More often than not the last words of famous people are fictitious. Some celebrities, such as Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain, seem to be "quotation magnets", attracting clever statements others invented. In an earlier blog entry I quoted Voltaire who allegedly refused on his deathbed to renounce Satan with the words: "This is no time to make enemies." According to the Secret Diary Of Le Duc De Croy which I read last week that quotation is pure, if wonderful, fiction. It's true, though, that Voltaire refused to make his peace with the Catholic religion. When the priest who came to his bed called on Jesus, Voltaire hissed "Curse the wretch!". He told the horrified clergyman: "Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror...Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion that has ever infected the world." This said the great philosopher closed his eyes and died peacefully.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Voltaire Once Again, Corrected
More often than not the last words of famous people are fictitious. Some celebrities, such as Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain, seem to be "quotation magnets", attracting clever statements others invented. In an earlier blog entry I quoted Voltaire who allegedly refused on his deathbed to renounce Satan with the words: "This is no time to make enemies." According to the Secret Diary Of Le Duc De Croy which I read last week that quotation is pure, if wonderful, fiction. It's true, though, that Voltaire refused to make his peace with the Catholic religion. When the priest who came to his bed called on Jesus, Voltaire hissed "Curse the wretch!". He told the horrified clergyman: "Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror...Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion that has ever infected the world." This said the great philosopher closed his eyes and died peacefully.
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And he didn't know what we do know today. Great!
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