Anatole France? François Rabelais? Michel de Montaigne? Lewis Piaget Shanks? Will Durant? Apocryphal?
Question for Quote Investigator: The French Nobel laureate Anatole France was skeptical of martyrdom. Here are three versions of a statement attributed to him:
- To die for an idea is to set a pretty high value on conjectures.
- To die for an idea is to put a very high value on one’s opinions.
- To die for an idea is to set a rather high price upon guesswork.
Would you please help me to find the original statement in French?
Reply from Quote Investigator: In April 1889 Anatole France published a piece in “Le Temps” (“The Times”) newspaper of Paris in which he discussed a book about François Rabelais. France’s essay praised the controversial 16th century satirical writer for maintaining integrity while avoiding execution. The following is a statement from the essay together with one possible translation into English. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
. . . mourir pour une idée, c’est mettre à bien haut prix des conjectures.
. . . to die for an idea is to place a very high price on conjectures.
Below are additional selected citations.
Continue reading “Quote Origin: To Die for an Idea Is To Place a Very High Price Upon Conjecture”