--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In every author, let us distinguish the…" description: "\"“In every author, let us distinguish the man from his work.”\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/voltaire-173_author_in-every-author-let-us-distinguish-the-m_2437109.png" --- # In every author, let us distinguish the man from his work. ![“In every author, let us distinguish the man from his work.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/voltaire-173_author_in-every-author-let-us-distinguish-the-m_2437109.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/voltaire-173_author_in-every-author-let-us-distinguish-the-m_2437109.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d67/voltaire-173_author_in-every-author-let-us-distinguish-the-m_2437109.png) > ““In every author, let us distinguish the man from his work.”” [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. Distinguish a creator’s personal identity from the value of their creations. **In simple terms:** Separate the person from their work. Key Takeaway Judge work on its own merits. Themes identity art criticism Mood analytical reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - literary criticism - art appraisal - personal branding Key Concepts philosophy authorship evaluation Questions to Reflect On - How do you separate personal bias from artistic merit? - Can a work stand independent of its creator? A Different Perspective A creator’s personal flaws may affect interpretation of their work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author/) [Author Let](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author-let-354353/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Distinguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinguish/) [Distinguish Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinguish-man-354354/) [Let Distinguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-distinguish-354355/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [In every author let us distinguish the man from his works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-author-let-us-distinguish-the-man-from-his-works/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [I demand of you, and of the whole world, that you show me a generic character... by which to distinguish between Man and Ape.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-linnaeus/i-demand-of-you-and-of-the-whole-world-that-you-show-me-a-generic-2/) [Carl Linnaeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-linnaeus/) > [“man’s dignity consists in the following facts which distinguish man from animals. First, that he has a playful curiosity and a natural genius for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/man-s-dignity-consists-in-the-following-facts-which-distinguish-man/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/every-man-s-life-ends-the-same-way-it-is-only-the-details-of-how-he/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I try to distinguish my characters from each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-liu/i-try-to-distinguish-my-characters-from-each-other/) [Lucy Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-liu/) > [I must like my profession, since I can hardly distinguish myself from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-must-like-my-profession-since-i-can-hardly-distinguish-myself-from/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Prudence therefore consists in knowing how to distinguish degrees of disadvantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/prudence-therefore-consists-in-knowing-how-to-distinguish-degrees-of/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I don't have time to distinguish between the unfortunate and the incompetent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-have-time-to-distinguish-between-the-unfortunate-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have within us, from the start, that which will distinguish us from the vulgar herd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-within-us-from-the-start-that-which-will-distinguish-us-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's not love at first sight, it's having the sight, to distinguish true love, from just mere beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/it-s-not-love-at-first-sight-it-s-having-the-sight-to-distinguish/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [He, who knows how to distinguish between true and false, must have an adequate idea of true and false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/he-who-knows-how-to-distinguish-between-true-and-false-must-have-an/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [You have to always try to think about them like real people first, and not just heroes. 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Or tell the difference between the falling rain and loneliness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/who-can-really-distinguish-between-the-sea-and-what-s-reflected-in-it/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [As adults feign disinterest in science - children can grab hold of it to distinguish themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-macleod/as-adults-feign-disinterest-in-science-children-can-grab-hold-of-it/) [Norman Macleod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-macleod/) > [I think it is important to learn to distinguish between being childlike and being childish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-it-is-important-to-learn-to-distinguish-between-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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." 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Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“There's a word for an author who doesn't give up... published.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-a-word-for-an-author-who-doesn-t-give-up-published/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A children's author on a soapbox is not a pleasant sight but I have become drawn into issues, slightly unwillingly, relating to young people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/a-children-s-author-on-a-soapbox-is-not-a-pleasant-sight-but-i-have/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“Grayson: Fiction is just a lie anyway. Brianna: But it's not - it's a different kind of truth - it would be your truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/grayson-fiction-is-just-a-lie-anyway-brianna-but-it-s-not-it-s-a/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“Religion is like wax. How anyone deals with it is decisive for how it will look like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-midland/religion-is-like-wax-how-anyone-deals-with-it-is-decisive-for-how-it/) [Ben Midland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-midland/) > [“Expression is a function of intention and intention emanates from your thought faculty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/expression-is-a-function-of-intention-and-intention-emanates-from/) [Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/) > [“There is no shortcut for hard work that leads to effectiveness. You must stay disciplined because most of the work is behind the scenes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/there-is-no-shortcut-for-hard-work-that-leads-to-effectiveness-you/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [I come from a working-class family. They're the people I know and the people I love, I guess. I do not write about them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-come-from-a-working-class-family-they-re-the-people-i-know-and-the/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [I am a completely horizontal author. I can't think unless I'm lying down, either in bed or stretched on a couch and with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-am-a-completely-horizontal-author-i-can-t-think-unless-i-m-lying/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [The author I wish I was reading right now and always is Nora Ephron. I love the humor, the awareness, the sense of self-deprecation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garance-dore/the-author-i-wish-i-was-reading-right-now-and-always-is-nora-ephron-i/) [Garance Dore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garance-dore/) > [“Betsy was so full of joy that she had to be alone. She went upstairs to her bedroom and sat down on Uncle Keith's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/betsy-was-so-full-of-joy-that-she-had-to-be-alone-she-went-upstairs/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [Writing is a intensely personal activity. I can pen down my best thoughts when I'm alone. 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