---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Accordingly, France Had Voltaire, and his…"
description: "\"Accordingly, France Had Voltaire, and his school of negative thinkers, and England (or rather Scotland) had the profoundest negative thinker on record,..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-stuart-mill-477_abstraction_accordingly-france-had-voltaire-and-his_2753986.png"
---

#  Accordingly, France Had Voltaire, and his school of…

![“Accordingly, France Had Voltaire, and his school of negative thinkers, and England (or rather Scotland) had the profoundest negative thinker on record, David Hume: a man, the peculiarities of whose mind qualified him to detect failure of proof, and want of logical consistency, at a depth which…” quote by John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-stuart-mill-477_abstraction_accordingly-france-had-voltaire-and-his_2753986.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-stuart-mill-477_abstraction_accordingly-france-had-voltaire-and-his_2753986.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-stuart-mill-477_abstraction_accordingly-france-had-voltaire-and-his_2753986.png)

> “Accordingly, France Had Voltaire, and his school of negative thinkers, and England (or rather Scotland) had the profoundest negative thinker on record, David Hume: a man, the peculiarities of whose mind qualified him to detect failure of proof, and want of logical consistency, at a depth which French skeptics, with their comparatively feeble powers of analysis and abstractions stop far short of, and which German subtlety alone could thoroughly appreciate, or hope to rival.”

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

David Hume’s skeptical rigor outshines French and German thinkers in detecting logical failures.

**In simple terms:** Hume excelled at spotting logical flaws.

Key Takeaway

Study critical thinking, value skepticism.

Themes

philosophy skepticism logic

Mood

analytical critical

Type

philosophical educational

When to use this quote

- academic debate
- research
- education
- media critique

Key Concepts

critical analysis epistemology

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we balance healthy doubt with constructive belief?
- When is skepticism most useful?

A Different Perspective

Skepticism may lead to cynicism if unchecked.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Analysis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analysis/) [Consistency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consistency/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/france/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Rivals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivals/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Scotland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scotland/) [Skeptic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skeptic/) [Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker/)

## Related quotes

> [Poor David Hume is dying fast, but with more real cheerfulness and good humor and with more real resignation to the necessary course of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/poor-david-hume-is-dying-fast-but-with-more-real-cheerfulness-and/)

[Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/)

> [“We hold these truths to be self-evident. { Franklin's edit to the assertion in Thomas Jefferson 's original wording, 'We hold these truths to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident-franklin-s-edit-to-the/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> ["We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable" in a draft of the Declaration of Independence changes it instead into an assertion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-sacred-and-undeniable-in-a-draft-of-the/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“David Hume, the great­est skep­tic of them all, once remarked that after a gath­er­ing of skep­tics met to pro­claim the verac­i­ty of skep­ti­cism as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/david-hume-the-great-est-skep-tic-of-them-all-once-remarked-that/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [It always struck me as pretty cool that people who changed the world often knew each other. After reading them separately, hearing that David…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lonsdale/it-always-struck-me-as-pretty-cool-that-people-who-changed-the-world/)

[Joe Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lonsdale/)

> [There is more to be learnt from every page of David Hume than from the collected philosophical works of Hegel, Herbart, and Schleiermacher are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/there-is-more-to-be-learnt-from-every-page-of-david-hume-than-from/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“Certainly the anonymous scarecrow portrait was intended to put him in his place, in much the same way as the philosopher David Hume was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/certainly-the-anonymous-scarecrow-portrait-was-intended-to-put-him-in/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [As the capacity to coerce declines, it is natural to turn to control of opinion as the basis for authority and domination - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/as-the-capacity-to-coerce-declines-it-is-natural-to-turn-to-control/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Even David Hume, one of history most famous skeptics, said it's just barely possible that God exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/even-david-hume-one-of-history-most-famous-skeptics-said-it-s-just/)

[Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/)

> [In every page of David Hume, there is more to be learned than from Hegel's, Herbart's and Schleiermacher's complete philosophical works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-every-page-of-david-hume-there-is-more-to-be-learned-than-from/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [ “\[On David Hume\] Although he never admitted to being an atheist as such, he was clearly and unquestionably the most vividly elegant skeptic of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-miller/on-david-hume-although-he-never-admitted-to-being-an-atheist-as-such/)

[Jonathan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-miller/)

> [“I have always considered David Hume as approaching as nearly the idea of a perfectly wise and virtuous man as perhaps the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/i-have-always-considered-david-hume-as-approaching-as-nearly-the-idea/)

[Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/)

> [The first-cause and prime-mover argument, brilliantly proffered by St. Thomas Aquinas in the fourteenth century (and brilliantly refuted by David Hume in the eighteenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/the-first-cause-and-prime-mover-argument-brilliantly-proffered-by-st/)

[Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/)

> [“David Hume, in a moment of acute skepticism, felt panicky in the solitude of his study and had to go out and join his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/david-hume-in-a-moment-of-acute-skepticism-felt-panicky-in-the/)

[William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/)

> [I think it was David Hume who put it slightly vulgarly, this was again about the virgin birth I think. Which is more likely...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-think-it-was-david-hume-who-put-it-slightly-vulgarly-this-was-again/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

## More by John Stuart Mill

> [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [Liberty lies in the rights of that person whose views you find most odious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/liberty-lies-in-the-rights-of-that-person-whose-views-you-find-most/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [Truth emerges from the clash of adverse ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/truth-emerges-from-the-clash-of-adverse-ideas/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [“No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the great majority are so by force of poverty; they are still chained to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/no-longer-enslaved-or-made-dependent-by-force-of-law-the-great/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [All acts suppose certain dispositions, and habits of mind and heart, which may be in themselves states of enjoyment or of wretchedness, and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-acts-suppose-certain-dispositions-and-habits-of-mind-and-heart/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [Unfortunately for the good sense of mankind, the fact of their fallibility is far from carrying the weight in their practical judgement, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/unfortunately-for-the-good-sense-of-mankind-the-fact-of-their/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [“In history, as in traveling, men usually see only what they already had in their own minds; and few learn much from history, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/in-history-as-in-traveling-men-usually-see-only-what-they-already-had/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [All errors which a man is likely to commit against advice are far outweighed by the evil of allowing others to constrain him for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-errors-which-a-man-is-likely-to-commit-against-advice-are-far/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [Every great movement must experience three stages: ridicule, discussion, adoption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/every-great-movement-must-experience-three-stages-ridicule-discussion/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [The successful conduct of an industrial enterprise requires two quite distinct qualifications: fidelity and zeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-successful-conduct-of-an-industrial-enterprise-requires-two-quite/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [ “\[For people\] to refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/for-people-to-refuse-a-hearing-to-an-opinion-because-they-are-sure/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [This is what writers mean when they say that the notion of cause involves the idea of necessity. If there be any meaning which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/this-is-what-writers-mean-when-they-say-that-the-notion-of-cause/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [“Protection, therefore, against tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/protection-therefore-against-tyranny-of-the-magistrate-is-not-enough/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [Landlords grow rich in their sleep without working, risking or economizing. The increase in the value of land, arising as it does from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/landlords-grow-rich-in-their-sleep-without-working-risking-or/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [There is one characteristic of the present direction of public opinion, peculiarly calculated to make it intolerant of any marked demonstration of individuality. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/there-is-one-characteristic-of-the-present-direction-of-public/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

[Explore all 524 John Stuart Mill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

## More Abstraction quotes

> [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/)

[Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/)

> [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/)

[Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/)

> [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/)

[Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/)

> [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/)

Banesh Hoffmann

> [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/)

[Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/)

> [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/)

[Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/)

> [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/)

[June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/)

> [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/)

Alfred Aho

> [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/)

[Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/)

> [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/)

[Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/)

> [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/)

[Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/)

> [When novels deal in abstractions, they generally go off the rails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/when-novels-deal-in-abstractions-they-generally-go-off-the-rails/)

[Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/)

[Browse all 562 Abstraction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Accordingly, France Had Voltaire, and his school of negative thinkers, and England (or rather Scotland) had the profoundest negative thinker on record, David Hume: a man, the peculiarities of whose mind qualified him to detect failure of proof, and want of logical consistency, at a depth which French skeptics, with their comparatively feeble powers of analysis and abstractions stop far short of, and which German subtlety alone could thoroughly appreciate, or hope to rival.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Stuart Mill"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/accordingly-france-had-voltaire-and-his-school-of-negative-thinkers/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Abstraction"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/accordingly-france-had-voltaire-and-his-school-of-negative-thinkers/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-stuart-mill-477_abstraction_accordingly-france-had-voltaire-and-his_2753986.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-stuart-mill-477_abstraction_accordingly-france-had-voltaire-and-his_2753986.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57f/john-stuart-mill-477_abstraction_accordingly-france-had-voltaire-and-his_2753986.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Accordingly, France Had Voltaire, and his school of negative thinkers, and England (or rather Scotland) had…” — John Stuart Mill",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "John Stuart Mill",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Accordingly, France Had Voltaire, and his...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/accordingly-france-had-voltaire-and-his-school-of-negative-thinkers/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/accordingly-france-had-voltaire-and-his-school-of-negative-thinkers/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```