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"It is to Scotland that we look for our idea of cilivisation." -- Voltaire.

buttercup;1194921 wrote: "It is to Scotland that we look for our idea of cilivisation." -- Voltaire.


Funny I was thinking that last night- how civilised it is how round here-the drunks are considerate and always throw up in the gutter not on the pavement.

Voltaire is also known for many memorable aphorisms, such as: "Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer" ("If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him")

But Scotland? And he speaks from the 18th century, and as far as I am aware he never visited Scotland, and had a detractor in the Scottish Victorian writer Thomas Carlyle who argued that, while Voltaire was unsurpassed in literary form, not even the most elaborate of his works were of much value for matter and that he never uttered an original idea of his own.

Vesuvius;1195241 wrote: Voltaire is also known for many memorable aphorisms, such as: "Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer" ("If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him")

But Scotland? And he speaks from the 18th century,.....


Yes, he is speaking from the 18th century. On the other hand he is expressing a common thread of European opinion at that time.

He was referring to the Scottish Enlightenment, other European thinkers such as Immanuel Kant and Edmund Burke, to name two said similar things....

The French and the Scots always did have a special relationship. Usually in joining forces to fight the English But I find it difficult to fault since I am of the Armstrong Clan, well half of me is, and I do love the country.

Some information about Voltaire........

Voltaire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

buttercup;1194921 wrote: "It is to Scotland that we look for our idea of cilivisation." -- Voltaire.


You're lucky.

He referred to New France (now eastern Canada) as "a few acres of snow".