"To think of the world as a prison and man in it as a criminal sentenced to death is a fanatical thought; to believe that it is a garden of desires, where all the pleasures await us - this is a sybarite's wishful thinking. To think that the earth, the man, the animal are as they should be according to the order of Providence - I think this alone is worthy of a wise man.
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Author
VoltaireAll Translations
All Translations
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To think of the world as a prison and man in it as a criminal sentenced to death is a fanatical thought; to believe that it is a garden of desires, where all the pleasures await us - this is a sybarite's wishful thinking. To think that the earth, the man, the animal are as they should be according to the order of Providence - I think this alone is worthy of a wise man.
""Börtönnek tudni a világot, s halálraítélt gonosztevőnek benne az embert - ez fanatikus gondolat; a kéjek kertjének hinni, ahol csupa gyönyör vár ránk -, ez egy szibarita révedezése. Azt gondolni, hogy a föld, az ember, az állat olyan, amilyennek a Gondviselés rendje szerint lennie kell - azt hiszem, egyedül ez méltó a bölcs emberhez."