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The multitude of books is making us ignorant.
Voltaire
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The overwhelming number of books can lead to confusion and ignorance rather than enlightenment.

In this quote, Voltaire suggests that while books are meant to educate and inform, an excess of literature can have the opposite effect, resulting in ignorance. This points to the idea that quality and critical thinking are more important than quantity when it comes to knowledge acquisition.

Themes

BooksIgnoranceKnowledgeEducationReading

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used during a lecture about the importance of critical reading in academia.

More from Voltaire

Prejudices are what fools use for reason.
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He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead.
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It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong.
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It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.
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We are all full of weakness and errors; let us mutually pardon each other our follies - it is the first law of nature.
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It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.
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