--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since the time of Voltaire and…" description: "\"“Since the time of Voltaire and two-chamber Government, which is at bottom simply distrust and personal self-examination, and gives the popular mind th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/stendhal-1379_1830_since-the-time-of-voltaire-and-two-chamb_443265.jpg" --- # Since the time of Voltaire and two-chamber Government… ![“Since the time of Voltaire and two-chamber Government, which is at bottom simply distrust and personal self-examination, and gives the popular mind that bad habit of being suspicious, the Church of France seems to have realised that books are its real enemies.” quote by Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/stendhal-1379_1830_since-the-time-of-voltaire-and-two-chamb_443265.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/stendhal-1379_1830_since-the-time-of-voltaire-and-two-chamb_443265.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d72/stendhal-1379_1830_since-the-time-of-voltaire-and-two-chamb_443265.jpg) > ““Since the time of Voltaire and two-chamber Government, which is at bottom simply distrust and personal self-examination, and gives the popular mind that bad habit of being suspicious, the Church of France seems to have realised that books are its real enemies.”” [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Church perceives books as threats because they encourage critical thinking and self‑examination, undermining authority. **In simple terms:** Books challenge authority by prompting independent thought. Key Takeaway Protect intellectual freedom and question institutional narratives. Themes censorship religious authority critical thinking Mood skeptical reflective Type political philosophical When to use this quote - education - political discourse - media literacy - personal growth Key Concepts power dynamics knowledge control Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance faith and critical inquiry? - What responsibilities come with free access to information? A Different Perspective The Church may overstate the danger of ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anti-intellectualism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-intellectualism/) [Bad habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-habit/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Distrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distrust/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Each man for himself in that desert of egoism which is called life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/each-man-for-himself-in-that-desert-of-egoism-which-is-called-life/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“Could anything possibly be more humorous than believing in the depth or in the depravity of the Parisian character?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/could-anything-possibly-be-more-humorous-than-believing-in-the-depth/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“I will never demean myself to speak about my courage," said Julien, coldly, "it would be mean to do so. 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Beelzebub lay hid among too many syllables.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-blackwood/she-feared-long-words-she-did-not-understand-beelzebub-lay-hid-among/) [Algernon Blackwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-blackwood/) > [“It is a new Declaration of Independence: No longer do we hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-nichols/it-is-a-new-declaration-of-independence-no-longer-do-we-hold-these/) Tom Nichols > [“...the danger that American society as a whole will over-esteem intellect or assign it such a transcendent value as to displace other legitimate values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hofstadter/the-danger-that-american-society-as-a-whole-will-over-esteem/) [Richard Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hofstadter/) > [“And I wonder, therefore, how James Atlas can have been so indulgent in his recent essay ‘The Changing World of New York Intellectuals.’ This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/and-i-wonder-therefore-how-james-atlas-can-have-been-so-indulgent-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Sonnet 1106 When an expert doesn't know something, They say, "I don't know", without tricks. 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