--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Feeble verses are those which sin not…" description: "\"Feeble verses are those which sin not against rules, but against genius.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/090/voltaire-173_feeble_feeble-verses-are-those-which-sin-not-ag_1135229.png" --- # Feeble verses are those which sin not against rules, but… ![“Feeble verses are those which sin not against rules, but against genius.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/090/voltaire-173_feeble_feeble-verses-are-those-which-sin-not-ag_1135229.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/090/voltaire-173_feeble_feeble-verses-are-those-which-sin-not-ag_1135229.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/090/voltaire-173_feeble_feeble-verses-are-those-which-sin-not-ag_1135229.png) > “Feeble verses are those which sin not against rules, but against genius.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poetry that follows rules but lacks brilliance is weaker than rule‑breaking genius. **In simple terms:** Rules without inspiration are feeble. Key Takeaway Value originality over mere form. Themes art creativity discipline Mood critical inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary critique - education - creative practice Key Concepts poetic theory genius form vs. content Questions to Reflect On - When should rules be broken? - Can structure enhance genius? A Different Perspective Strict adherence can stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feeble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeble/) [Feeble Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeble-verses-3138560/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Sin Rules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin-rules-1971112/) [Sins not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sins-not/) [Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses/) [Verses Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses-sin-3138561/) ## Related quotes > [We have to recognize that sin is a fact, not a defect; sin is red-handed mutiny against God. Either God or sin must die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-have-to-recognize-that-sin-is-a-fact-not-a-defect-sin-is-red/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [If sin rules in me, God's life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-sin-rules-in-me-god-s-life-in-me-will-be-killed-if-god-rules-in-me/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [God prefers bad verses recited with a pure heart to the finest verses chanted by the wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-prefers-bad-verses-recited-with-a-pure-heart-to-the-finest-verses/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Luxury has been railed at for two thousand years, in verse and in prose, and it has always been loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/luxury-has-been-railed-at-for-two-thousand-years-in-verse-and-in/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [To engage people in culture we must remember that holiness is separation from sin, not separation from sinners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-stetzer/to-engage-people-in-culture-we-must-remember-that-holiness-is/) [Ed Stetzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-stetzer/) > [ That was the birth of sin. Not doing it, but KNOWING about it. Before the apple, \[Adam and Eve\] had shut their eyes and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/that-was-the-birth-of-sin-not-doing-it-but-knowing-about-it-before/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [What is it that renders death terrible? Sin. We must therefore fear sin, not death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonsus-liguori/what-is-it-that-renders-death-terrible-sin-we-must-therefore-fear-sin/) [Alphonsus Liguori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonsus-liguori/) > [Despair has been called the unforgivable sin-not presumably because God refuses to forgive it, but because it despairs of the possibility of being forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/despair-has-been-called-the-unforgivable-sin-not-presumably-because/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [I have 236 movies on my queue and I feel like I should always be watching movies. Like if I wake up in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gulman/i-have-236-movies-on-my-queue-and-i-feel-like-i-should-always-be/) [Gary Gulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gulman/) > [Christian liberty is freedom from sin, not freedom to sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/christian-liberty-is-freedom-from-sin-not-freedom-to-sin/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Christ came to take away our sins, not our minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/christ-came-to-take-away-our-sins-not-our-minds/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) > [We are not to look upon our sins as insignificant trifles. On the other hand, we are not to regard them as so terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/we-are-not-to-look-upon-our-sins-as-insignificant-trifles-on-the/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [It is our wisest and our safest course to stand at the farthest distance from sin; not to go near the house of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/it-is-our-wisest-and-our-safest-course-to-stand-at-the-farthest/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Jesus died for our sins, not our sexuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-perry/jesus-died-for-our-sins-not-our-sexuality/) [Troy Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-perry/) > [The first duty of a Christian, of a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, is to deny himself. To deny oneself means to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innocent-of-alaska/the-first-duty-of-a-christian-of-a-disciple-and-follower-of-jesus/) [Innocent of Alaska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innocent-of-alaska/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) [Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More Feeble quotes > [“Man may feel like a feeble and powerless pawn, at some moment in his life. This apprehension can come out of the blue, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/man-may-feel-like-a-feeble-and-powerless-pawn-at-some-moment-in-his/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“Have you ever plunged into the immensity of space and time by reading the geological treatises of Cuvier? Borne away on the wings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/have-you-ever-plunged-into-the-immensity-of-space-and-time-by-reading/) [Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“May you hear my feeble voice! It will tell you that here below there is a heart full of the memory of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herculine-barbin/may-you-hear-my-feeble-voice-it-will-tell-you-that-here-below-there/) [Herculine Barbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herculine-barbin/) > [I know my own soul, how feeble and puny it is: I know the magnitude of this ministry, and the great difficulty of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-chrysostom/i-know-my-own-soul-how-feeble-and-puny-it-is-i-know-the-magnitude-of/) [John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-chrysostom/) > [“Atticus was feeble: he was nearly fifty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/atticus-was-feeble-he-was-nearly-fifty/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Persuasion is the resource of the feeble; and the feeble can seldom persuade . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/persuasion-is-the-resource-of-the-feeble-and-the-feeble-can-seldom/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [The only black people you found were occasional characters or characters who were so feeble-witted that they couldn't manage anything, anyway. I wrote myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-only-black-people-you-found-were-occasional-characters-or/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [What I seek to accomplish is simply to serve with my feeble capacity truth and justice, at the risk of pleasing no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/what-i-seek-to-accomplish-is-simply-to-serve-with-my-feeble-capacity/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Even a feeble-minded man wants to be like other men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/even-a-feeble-minded-man-wants-to-be-like-other-men/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of feeble minds”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-foolish-consistency-is-the-hobgoblin-of-feeble-minds/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [A feeble body weakens the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/a-feeble-body-weakens-the-mind/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“Religion adheres to the wise, while the feeble are bound to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vd/religion-adheres-to-the-wise-while-the-feeble-are-bound-to-it/) [VD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vd/) > [A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/a-feeble-executive-implies-a-feeble-execution-of-the-government-a/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Humane sentiments are baseless, mad, and improper; they are incredibly feeble; never do they withstand the gainsaying passions, never do they resist bare necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/humane-sentiments-are-baseless-mad-and-improper-they-are-incredibly/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Profanity is the effort of a feeble brain to express itself forcibly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/profanity-is-the-effort-of-a-feeble-brain-to-express-itself-forcibly/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) [Browse all 77 Feeble quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeble/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Feeble verses are those which sin not against rules, but against genius.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/feeble-verses-are-those-which-sin-not-against-rules-but-against-genius/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feeble" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/feeble-verses-are-those-which-sin-not-against-rules-but-against-genius/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/090/voltaire-173_feeble_feeble-verses-are-those-which-sin-not-ag_1135229.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/090/voltaire-173_feeble_feeble-verses-are-those-which-sin-not-ag_1135229.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/090/voltaire-173_feeble_feeble-verses-are-those-which-sin-not-ag_1135229.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Feeble verses are those which sin not against rules, but against genius.” — Voltaire", "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": "Voltaire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Feeble verses are those which sin...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/feeble-verses-are-those-which-sin-not-against-rules-but-against-genius/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/feeble-verses-are-those-which-sin-not-against-rules-but-against-genius/#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 } } ] } ```