--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men will always be mad, and those who…" description: "\"Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/voltaire-173_cure_men-will-always-be-mad-and-those-who-thi_1451770.png" --- # Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure… ![“Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/voltaire-173_cure_men-will-always-be-mad-and-those-who-thi_1451770.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/voltaire-173_cure_men-will-always-be-mad-and-those-who-thi_1451770.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/voltaire-173_cure_men-will-always-be-mad-and-those-who-thi_1451770.png) > “Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all.” [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. People are inherently irrational, and attempts to fix them often reveal greater folly. **In simple terms:** People are crazy; trying to fix them shows more madness. Key Takeaway Beware of trying to cure what may be unfixable. Themes irrationality hubris human nature Mood cynical reflective Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - political discourse - mental health counseling - relationship advice - social reform Key Concepts philosophy psychology satire Questions to Reflect On - Is it wiser to accept irrationality? - When does intervention become hubris? A Different Perspective Attempts to change others can backfire and cause more harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [No, come to think of it, I don't think the Cure will end, but I can make up an ending if you want me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smith/no-come-to-think-of-it-i-don-t-think-the-cure-will-end-but-i-can-make/) [Robert Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smith/) > [I don't think we will find a cure for all cancers in the next 50 years let alone 20. I think it's foolishness to say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-winston/i-don-t-think-we-will-find-a-cure-for-all-cancers-in-the-next-50/) [Robert Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-winston/) > [I'm always very excited about trying to do something on next-generation biotechnology and life sciences because I think if we can cure cancer or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/i-m-always-very-excited-about-trying-to-do-something-on-next/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [I wish there was a disease where you're afraid of clouds, because I think I could cure it. First, you sit the patient down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-wish-there-was-a-disease-where-you-re-afraid-of-clouds-because-i/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [The maddest phenomenon in this wholly mad world – that the filming or wirelessing of an event, whether it is the Grand National or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/the-maddest-phenomenon-in-this-wholly-mad-world-that-the-filming-or/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [Some of the people who look the most normal are probably the maddest people trying to look normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-doyle/some-of-the-people-who-look-the-most-normal-are-probably-the-maddest/) [Roddy Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-doyle/) > [Sometimes I feel sure he is as mad as a hatter and then, just as he is at his maddest, I find there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/sometimes-i-feel-sure-he-is-as-mad-as-a-hatter-and-then-just-as-he-is/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-o-toole/and-maddest-of-all-to-see-life-as-it-is-and-not-as-it-should-be/) [Peter O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-o-toole/) > [The people that make you the maddest may do you the biggest favor-but they won't do so intentionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-turnipseed/the-people-that-make-you-the-maddest-may-do-you-the-biggest-favor-but/) Conrad Turnipseed > [Mark Watson's first 24-hour show was the maddest thing I've seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-key/mark-watson-s-first-24-hour-show-was-the-maddest-thing-i-ve-seen/) [Tim Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-key/) > [Resisting madness is the maddest way of being mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/resisting-madness-is-the-maddest-way-of-being-mad/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [It's the maddest thing, watching old shows, like getting your family album out and flicking through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-myers/it-s-the-maddest-thing-watching-old-shows-like-getting-your-family/) [Dave Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-myers/) > [Of all mad faiths maddest is the faith that we can get rid of faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/of-all-mad-faiths-maddest-is-the-faith-that-we-can-get-rid-of-faith/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > ['Tis the maddest trick a man can ever play in his whole life, to let his breath sneak out of his body without any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/tis-the-maddest-trick-a-man-can-ever-play-in-his-whole-life-to-let/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [“Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/too-much-sanity-may-be-madness-and-maddest-of-all-to-see-life-as-it/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) ## 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 Cure quotes > [“There is a cure and answer to everything, we just haven't found them yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-halimi/there-is-a-cure-and-answer-to-everything-we-just-haven-t-found-them/) [Eve Halimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-halimi/) > [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [When scientists are asked what they are working on, their response is seldom 'Finding the origin of the universe' or 'Seeking to cure cancer.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/when-scientists-are-asked-what-they-are-working-on-their-response-is/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [When love has been wounded; trust, reassurance, honesty, and intimacy, in abundance, are the only known cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-love-has-been-wounded-trust-reassurance-honesty-and-intimacy-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think there is a true cure for PTSD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-land/i-don-t-think-there-is-a-true-cure-for-ptsd/) [Stephanie Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-land/) > [The cure is in the house, not brought by other hands from distant places, but by its own, in agony and blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-cure-is-in-the-house-not-brought-by-other-hands-from-distant/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“to cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-cure-sometimes-to-relieve-often-to-comfort-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We're not going to cure terrorism and spread peace and goodwill in the Middle East by killing innocent people, or I'm not even saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sheehan/we-re-not-going-to-cure-terrorism-and-spread-peace-and-goodwill-in/) [Cindy Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sheehan/) > [“Awareness Makes a Cure Possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-davies/awareness-makes-a-cure-possible/) Sydney Davies > [I've always found a cure for the blues is wandering into something unknown, and resting there, before coming back to whatever weight you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-sawyer/i-ve-always-found-a-cure-for-the-blues-is-wandering-into-something/) [Diane Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-sawyer/) > [Ink is the great cure for all human ills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/ink-is-the-great-cure-for-all-human-ills/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [There are no such things as incurable, there are only things for which man has not found a cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-baruch/there-are-no-such-things-as-incurable-there-are-only-things-for-which/) [Bernard Baruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-baruch/) > [Despair is the only cure for illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lowen/despair-is-the-only-cure-for-illusion/) [Alexander Lowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lowen/) > [We found that specialists did not know as much as we thought. So, you think maybe there are other answers. There are not but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bronson/we-found-that-specialists-did-not-know-as-much-as-we-thought-so-you/) [Charles Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bronson/) > [Though social eugenics was discredited long ago, we still often think of the genome in quasi-eugenic terms. When we read about the latest discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-wolf/though-social-eugenics-was-discredited-long-ago-we-still-often-think/) [Gary Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-wolf/) Browse all 592 Cure quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-will-always-be-mad-and-those-who-think-they-can-cure-them-are-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-will-always-be-mad-and-those-who-think-they-can-cure-them-are-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/voltaire-173_cure_men-will-always-be-mad-and-those-who-thi_1451770.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/voltaire-173_cure_men-will-always-be-mad-and-those-who-thi_1451770.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/voltaire-173_cure_men-will-always-be-mad-and-those-who-thi_1451770.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men will always be mad, and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all.” — 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": "Men will always be mad, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-will-always-be-mad-and-those-who-think-they-can-cure-them-are-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-will-always-be-mad-and-those-who-think-they-can-cure-them-are-the/#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 } } ] } ```