--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Voltaire spoke of the Bible as a…" description: "\"Voltaire spoke of the Bible as a short-lived book. He said that within a hundred years it would pass from common use. Not many people read Voltaire tod..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/bruce-barton-10676_bible_voltaire-spoke-of-the-bible-as-a-short-l_2246207.jpg" --- # Voltaire spoke of the Bible as a short-lived book. He said… ![“Voltaire spoke of the Bible as a short-lived book. He said that within a hundred years it would pass from common use. Not many people read Voltaire today, but his house has been packed with Bibles as a depot of a Bible society.” quote by Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/bruce-barton-10676_bible_voltaire-spoke-of-the-bible-as-a-short-l_2246207.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/bruce-barton-10676_bible_voltaire-spoke-of-the-bible-as-a-short-l_2246207.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/463/bruce-barton-10676_bible_voltaire-spoke-of-the-bible-as-a-short-l_2246207.jpg) > “Voltaire spoke of the Bible as a short-lived book. He said that within a hundred years it would pass from common use. Not many people read Voltaire today, but his house has been packed with Bibles as a depot of a Bible society.” [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Voltaire predicted the Bible would become obsolete within a century, yet it endures, showing the difficulty of forecasting cultural longevity. **In simple terms:** Predictions about cultural relevance often fail. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about lasting impact. Themes history cultural change prediction Mood skeptical thoughtful Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - publishing industry - education curricula - media trends Key Concepts ephemerality religion societal values Questions to Reflect On - What factors contribute to a work’s lasting influence? - How do predictions shape our treatment of cultural artifacts? A Different Perspective Overlooks the role of institutional support in preserving texts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Bibles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bibles/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Read Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-voltaire-1436537/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Short lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-lived/) [Spokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spokes/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voltaire/) [Voltaire Spoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voltaire-spoke-5112882/) [Voltaire Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voltaire-today-2612331/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“One day everything will be well, that is our hope,’ said Voltaire; ‘today everything is fine, that is our illusion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/one-day-everything-will-be-well-that-is-our-hope-said-voltaire-today/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [“Voltaire expected that within fifty years of his lifetime there would not be one Bible in the world. His house is now a distribution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/voltaire-expected-that-within-fifty-years-of-his-lifetime-there-would/) [Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) > [Well, there's just some universal truths in a way that I've just observed to be true. You read Voltaire. You read modern literature. Anywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/feist/well-there-s-just-some-universal-truths-in-a-way-that-i-ve-just/) [Feist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/feist/) > [“Many of them were familiar from childhood with the fables of La Fontaine. Or they had read Voltaire or Racine or Molière in English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/many-of-them-were-familiar-from-childhood-with-the-fables-of-la/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“And there you have your Founders and Framers in all their elite glory—the 1 percent of their time. Many spent more than they made.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/and-there-you-have-your-founders-and-framers-in-all-their-elite-glory/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [Take a look at the number of Bibles on your shelf. Think how grateful you are for the help you've received from various Bible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-manser/take-a-look-at-the-number-of-bibles-on-your-shelf-think-how-grateful/) [Martin Manser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-manser/) > [If only more Christians read their bibles there'd be less Christians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-clayton/if-only-more-christians-read-their-bibles-there-d-be-less-christians/) [Derek Clayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-clayton/) > [Break all the TVs, burn all the Bibles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henrik-clarke/break-all-the-tvs-burn-all-the-bibles/) [John Henrik Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henrik-clarke/) > [“ My Cuddle Time Bible Story Book Sleeping with Jesus Baby Bibles: Tall Tales for Tiny tots Everybody Poops (Except God)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/my-cuddle-time-bible-story-book-sleeping-with-jesus-baby-bibles-tall/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Priests clutched onto bibles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coldplay/priests-clutched-onto-bibles/) [Coldplay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coldplay/) > [The guys I work out with used to have a thing where if we didn't read our Bibles for 10 minutes a day we'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-froning-jr/the-guys-i-work-out-with-used-to-have-a-thing-where-if-we-didn-t-read/) [Rich Froning Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-froning-jr/) > [Let us read our Bibles reverently and diligently, with an honest determination to believe and practice all we find in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/let-us-read-our-bibles-reverently-and-diligently-with-an-honest/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Never be afraid of your Bibles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/never-be-afraid-of-your-bibles/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Bibles laid open, millions of surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/bibles-laid-open-millions-of-surprises/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“That one over this is the one for the use of the white people,” Judge Amistead Jones said. “Not that I am a stickler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-wilkerson/that-one-over-this-is-the-one-for-the-use-of-the-white-people-judge/) [Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-wilkerson/) ## More by Bruce Barton > [My program is to leave the fools to nature. She has diseases with which to deal with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/my-program-is-to-leave-the-fools-to-nature-she-has-diseases-with/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [The Bible rose to the place it now occupies because it deserved to rise to that place, and not because God sent anybody with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/the-bible-rose-to-the-place-it-now-occupies-because-it-deserved-to/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [What a curious phenomenon it is that you can get men to die for the liberty of the world who will not make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/what-a-curious-phenomenon-it-is-that-you-can-get-men-to-die-for-the/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Christ would be a national advertiser today, I am sure, as He was a great advertiser in His own day. He thought of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/christ-would-be-a-national-advertiser-today-i-am-sure-as-he-was-a/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Surely no one will consider us lacking in reverence if we say that every one of the "principles of modern salesmanship" on which business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/surely-no-one-will-consider-us-lacking-in-reverence-if-we-say-that/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/nothing-splendid-has-ever-been-achieved-except-by-those-who-dared/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [It takes a real storm in the average persons life to make him realize how much worrying he has done over the squalls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/it-takes-a-real-storm-in-the-average-persons-life-to-make-him-realize/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Get money - but stop once in a while to figure what it is costing you to get it. No man gets it without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/get-money-but-stop-once-in-a-while-to-figure-what-it-is-costing-you/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [An election goes on every minute of the business day across the counters of hundreds of thousands of stores and shops where the customers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/an-election-goes-on-every-minute-of-the-business-day-across-the/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [I had never thought of advertising as a life work, though I had on the side, written some very successful copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/i-had-never-thought-of-advertising-as-a-life-work-though-i-had-on-the/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Talkers have always ruled. They will continue to rule. The smart thing is to join them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/talkers-have-always-ruled-they-will-continue-to-rule-the-smart-thing/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [We pay just as dearly for our triumphs as we do for our defeats. Go ahead and fail. But fail with wit, fail with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/we-pay-just-as-dearly-for-our-triumphs-as-we-do-for-our-defeats-go/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Learn their lesson, that if you would teach people you first must capture their interest with news; that your service rather than your sermons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/learn-their-lesson-that-if-you-would-teach-people-you-first-must/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [When a load of bricks, dumped on a corner lot, can arrange themselves into a house; when a handful of springs and screws and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/when-a-load-of-bricks-dumped-on-a-corner-lot-can-arrange-themselves/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity that was at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/most-successful-men-have-not-achieved-their-distinction-by-having-2/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) [Explore all 64 Bruce Barton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) [Michael Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arnold/) > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [“Scripture also teaches that human beings are morally responsible creatures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-peterson/scripture-also-teaches-that-human-beings-are-morally-responsible/) [Robert A. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-peterson/) > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) [Stephen Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-taylor/) > [O Word of God incarnate . . . It is the golden casket Where gems of truth are stored; It is the heaven-drawn picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walsham-how/o-word-of-god-incarnate-it-is-the-golden-casket-where-gems-of-truth/) [Walsham How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walsham-how/) > [How can I trust that the Bible is reliable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-horton/how-can-i-trust-that-the-bible-is-reliable/) [Michael Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-horton/) > [Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted with be uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/every-plant-which-my-heavenly-father-has-not-planted-with-be-uprooted/) [Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/) > [Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/where-i-come-from-you-re-not-raised-to-think-on-your-own-it-s-not/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? Heaven is referred to in fifty-four of the Bible's sixty-six books, and the final two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/what-comes-to-mind-when-you-think-of-heaven-heaven-is-referred-to-in/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [The definition of a Church is crystal clear in the New Testament. We see the picture of it. They came together the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-definition-of-a-church-is-crystal-clear-in-the-new-testament-we/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) [Browse all 8,465 Bible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Voltaire spoke of the Bible as a short-lived book. He said that within a hundred years it would pass from common use. 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