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The metamorphosis of a quote
Apr. 9th, 2009 09:10 amRandom quote of the day:
"It is no more surprising to be born twice than to be born once; everything in nature is resurrection."
—Voltaire, as quoted by Lady Caithness
One of the reasons I like searching for attributions—besides being anal and wanting to get things right—is that you learn such interesting stuff along the way. This quote, for instance. I can't find any proof that Voltaire said it or wrote it. He might have, but I can't find the reference. The reference I used from Lady Caithness (aka Countess Caithness, aka Marie Sinclair Caithness) is the oldest I've found, from her book, Old Truths in a New Light, or, An Earnest Endeavour to Reconcile Material Science with Spiritual Science, and with Scripture. She published this in 1874, though, far too late for her to be quoting from personal knowledge. Her precise quotation:
However, Voltaire did say in The Philosophical Dictionary under "Metempsychosis":
Which doesn't strike me as unsympathetic to the notion of reincarnation, but certainly doesn't prove he's a proponent. And I can see where alternate versions of this quote got their inspiration. Some have Voltaire saying, "The doctrine of metempsychosis is, above all, neither absurd nor useless. It is no more surprising to be born twice than to be born once; everything in nature is resurrection." You can almost see someone reading The Philosophical Dictionary and fiddling with the quote to make it sound more legit or give more credence to their cause. I've never been of the school who believes that "because some famous guy believes in something it must be true," but people do seem to like bolstering their philosophy with the philosophy of Great Minds.
Or, I could just be a cynic.
But not too much of a cynic, because I think it's a very romantic notion that the Prince of the Enlightenment entertained the notion of reincarnation. So romantic and appealing that I can't help using it myself. So, quote him if it strikes your fancy—and unless proven wrong.
( Illustrated version. )
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
"It is no more surprising to be born twice than to be born once; everything in nature is resurrection."
—Voltaire, as quoted by Lady Caithness
One of the reasons I like searching for attributions—besides being anal and wanting to get things right—is that you learn such interesting stuff along the way. This quote, for instance. I can't find any proof that Voltaire said it or wrote it. He might have, but I can't find the reference. The reference I used from Lady Caithness (aka Countess Caithness, aka Marie Sinclair Caithness) is the oldest I've found, from her book, Old Truths in a New Light, or, An Earnest Endeavour to Reconcile Material Science with Spiritual Science, and with Scripture. She published this in 1874, though, far too late for her to be quoting from personal knowledge. Her precise quotation:
Voltaire said it was not more surprising to be born twice, than to be born once. "Il n'est pas plus surprenant de naître deux fois qu'une; tout est resurrection dans la nature."
However, Voltaire did say in The Philosophical Dictionary under "Metempsychosis":
Is it not very natural that all the metamorphoses with which the world is covered should have made people imagine in the Orient, where everything has been imagined, that our souls passed from one body to another? An almost imperceptible speck becomes a worm, this worm becomes a butterfly; an acorn transforms itself into an oak; an egg into a bird; water becomes cloud and thunder; wood is changed into fire and ash; everything in nature appears, in fine, metamorphosed. Soon people attributed to souls, which were regarded as light figures, what they saw in more gross bodies. The idea of metempsychosis is perhaps the most ancient dogma of the known universe, and it still reigns in a large part of India and China.
(BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008)
Which doesn't strike me as unsympathetic to the notion of reincarnation, but certainly doesn't prove he's a proponent. And I can see where alternate versions of this quote got their inspiration. Some have Voltaire saying, "The doctrine of metempsychosis is, above all, neither absurd nor useless. It is no more surprising to be born twice than to be born once; everything in nature is resurrection." You can almost see someone reading The Philosophical Dictionary and fiddling with the quote to make it sound more legit or give more credence to their cause. I've never been of the school who believes that "because some famous guy believes in something it must be true," but people do seem to like bolstering their philosophy with the philosophy of Great Minds.
Or, I could just be a cynic.
But not too much of a cynic, because I think it's a very romantic notion that the Prince of the Enlightenment entertained the notion of reincarnation. So romantic and appealing that I can't help using it myself. So, quote him if it strikes your fancy—and unless proven wrong.
( Illustrated version. )
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.