“A great swindle of our time is the assumption that science has made religion obsolete. All science has damaged is the story of Adam and Eve and the story of Jonah and the Whale. Everything else holds up pretty well, particularly lessons about fairness and gentleness. People who find those lessons irrelevant in the twentieth century are simply using science as an excuse for greed and harshness. Science has nothing to do with it, friends.”
Kurt Vonnegut
“Si Dieu n’existait pas, il faudrait l’inventer.”[3]
Translation: If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.
Simple: If God did not exist, we would have to invent him
What it means: Voltaire believes in God, but if someone proved God didn’t exist, people would have to invent God.
Two more from Voltaire
“L’homme est libre au moment qu’il veut l’être.”[1]
Translation: Man is free at the instant he wants to be.
Simple: Man is free when he wants to be free
“Le paradis terrestre est où je suis.”[2]
Translation: Paradise on Earth is where I am.
Simple: I am in paradise where I live
What it means: Paradise is where Voltaire is on Earth