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What is the meaning of this Voltaire quote ?

Nos cinq sens imparfaits, donnés par la nature, de nos biens, de nos maux sont la seuls mesure.

I can't even parse this sentence.

Starckman
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  • "seule mesure" (feminine, not plural). – Frank Jan 17 '23 at 14:05
  • From Premier Discours. De L'égalité Des Conditions. in Discours En Vers Sur L'homme, 1734. I think keeping the verse structure and the rhyme (nature/mesure) would be appropriate. It can help parse. – Frank Jan 17 '23 at 14:12
  • @Frank Thank you, I simply kept the quotation spelling as I found it. https://www.google.com/search?q=%22Nos+cinq+sens+imparfaits,+donn%C3%A9s+par+la+nature,+de+nos+biens,+de+nos+maux+sont+la+seuls+mesure.%22&source=lmns&bih=667&biw=1440&client=firefox-b-d&hl=fr&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvqo3Q3tD8AhVYzYsBHV6PBHgQ_AUoAHoECAEQAA – Starckman Jan 18 '23 at 08:51

1 Answers1

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It's a hard one to parse because it's part of a poem. The syntax has been distorted to produce the rhyme.

In a nutshell: "the five senses nature gave us, though imperfect, are the only way we can judge (measure) what is good or bad to us"

Here good and bad are not to be taken in the moral sense, but as adequate to our well being. As in "poverty is bad" and "wealth is good".

I took a look at the context, it seems to be part of the first discourse in Discours en Vers sur l'Homme, where Voltaire tries to argue that, beyond appearances, all people are equal in condition.

Right before OP's quote he states "Les mortels sont egaux, leur masque est différent" -> "mortals are equal, their masks (appearances) are different", and right after argues that even kings don't have more than 5 senses.

I claim no familiarity with this particular work, but from a rapid reading it looks like a very typical Voltaire-ish argument that rich people and kings also have their problems, and therefore poor people should not envy their condition or question why they are poor too much. Providing arguments as to why poor people should stay in their place is something Voltaire did a lot and it made him quite popular among the rich and opulent.

armand
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    Here this paragraph is to show that all human are equal, in the sense that they have the same basic limitations and faculties. And this sentence is about the fact that all humans can judge by their senses ? – Starckman Jan 17 '23 at 06:35
  • I found this commentary (in French): https://www.canalacademies.com/emissions/2010-la-democratie/voltaire-rousseau-deux-conceptions-modernes-de-legalite. The original full text can be found here: https://sweet.ua.pt/fmart/dcvrhom.htm – Starckman Jan 17 '23 at 06:36
  • So but this passage "Nos cinq sens imparfaits, donnés par la nature, de nos biens, de nos maux sont la seuls mesure." has to see with the empiristic philosophy of Voltaire? The idea that truth can but can accessed by senses? – Starckman Jan 17 '23 at 06:37
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    @starckman that is what i thought a priori, but looking at the context my opinion is just that he wants to emphasize that all humans have but 5 senses and therefore share the same limitations. It might be linked to empiricism (otherwise he would have found a verse about, say, how we all share the same sense of reason or something), but it's not the main topic here. – armand Jan 17 '23 at 07:01
  • I see, thank you! – Starckman Jan 17 '23 at 07:04
  • I think we can keep "measure" in the translation: "our five imperfect senses, given by nature, are the only measure of our good and ills" - "good" being trickier here, maybe "fortune"? – Frank Jan 17 '23 at 14:03
  • Looking at the text where this quote is from, I would say Voltaire was trying to make the point that "Eminences" and "Altesses" (nobility) were not to be envied, more than rich folks. I don't know if Voltaire would oppose poor/rich rather than noble/commoner. Of course, in those times, being noble could be correlated with being rich, although not always. – Frank Jan 17 '23 at 14:10
  • @armand *par tout hasard*, do you know if Voltaire was a materialist? I know that Diderot, but Voltaire I am not sure – Starckman Jan 18 '23 at 08:52
  • @starckman The SEP entry on Voltaire talks about the nuances of Voltaire and materialism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/voltaire/. – Frank Jan 18 '23 at 15:12
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    @Frank Thank you. I think here it is more about determinism and free will than materialism. What do you think? – Starckman Jan 21 '23 at 08:35
  • @starckman Not sure - it's a little weird, now that I think about it, because the context around that quote is about social status and differences, certainly not a philosophical reflection about determinism and materialism. The next verse asks: "Do Kings have six senses?" for example, and before that, it was about all men being equal. – Frank Jan 21 '23 at 17:47
  • @Frank But Voltaire is an hedonist. Are hedonists materialist? – Starckman Jan 22 '23 at 07:00
  • @starckman Even if that is the case, each author should probably be assessed separately. There are always nuances and details. – Frank Jan 22 '23 at 16:31
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    @Frank I agree. Thank you for your nice responses and for the link. This Stanford website is really a treasure, but I didn't know they had a page dedicated to Voltaire! – Starckman Jan 23 '23 at 04:05