--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The monster, fanaticism, still exists…" description: "\"The monster, fanaticism, still exists, and whoever seeks after truth will run the risk of being persecuted.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/voltaire-173_fanaticism_the-monster-fanaticism-still-exists-and_3132488.png" --- # The monster, fanaticism, still exists, and whoever seeks… ![“The monster, fanaticism, still exists, and whoever seeks after truth will run the risk of being persecuted.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/voltaire-173_fanaticism_the-monster-fanaticism-still-exists-and_3132488.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/voltaire-173_fanaticism_the-monster-fanaticism-still-exists-and_3132488.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/voltaire-173_fanaticism_the-monster-fanaticism-still-exists-and_3132488.png) > “The monster, fanaticism, still exists, and whoever seeks after truth will run the risk of being persecuted.” [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. The quote warns that fanaticism persists and that pursuing truth can expose one to persecution. **In simple terms:** Truth seekers may be attacked by extreme believers. Key Takeaway Stay vigilant and courageous when seeking truth. Themes truth persecution fanaticism Mood cautious determined Type political philosophical When to use this quote - journalism - activism - academic research - human rights advocacy Key Concepts political theory ethics history Questions to Reflect On - What risks do you face when challenging dominant narratives? - How can societies protect truth‑tellers? A Different Perspective It may generalize all truth‑seekers as vulnerable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fanaticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanaticism/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Persecution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persecution/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Fanaticism exists in every religion, whether Christian, Jewish, or Muslim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/fanaticism-exists-in-every-religion-whether-christian-jewish-or-muslim/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [He who seeks truth should be of no country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/he-who-seeks-truth-should-be-of-no-country/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [To announce truths is an infallible receipt for being persecuted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/to-announce-truths-is-an-infallible-receipt-for-being-persecuted/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“Upon what does happiness depend?” said Zadig; “I am persecuted by everything in the world, even on account of beings that have no existence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/upon-what-does-happiness-depend-said-zadig-i-am-persecuted-by/) [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/) > [“FANATICISM is, to superstition, what delirium is to fever, and fury to anger : he who has ecstasies and visions, who takes dreams for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-is-to-superstition-what-delirium-is-to-fever-and-fury-to/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Let us therefore reject all superstition in order to become more human; but in speaking against fanaticism, let us not imitate the fanatics: they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/let-us-therefore-reject-all-superstition-in-order-to-become-more/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Which is more dangerous: fanaticism or atheism? Fanaticism is certainly a thousand times more deadly; for atheism inspires no bloody passion whereas fanaticism does;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/which-is-more-dangerous-fanaticism-or-atheism-fanaticism-is-certainly/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Theological religion is the source of all imaginable follies and disturbances. It is the parent of fanaticism and civil discord; it is the enemy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/theological-religion-is-the-source-of-all-imaginable-follies-and/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [An infallible method of making fanatics is to persuade before you instruct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/an-infallible-method-of-making-fanatics-is-to-persuade-before-you/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [He who seeks truth must be content with a lonely, little-trodden path. If he cannot worship her till she has been canonized by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/he-who-seeks-truth-must-be-content-with-a-lonely-little-trodden-path/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [“Now he seeks truth in silence. He seeks God in the same, although he has come to believe that truth and God are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-winslow/now-he-seeks-truth-in-silence-he-seeks-god-in-the-same-although-he/) [Don Winslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-winslow/) > [The real is near, you do not have to seek it; and a man who seeks truth will never find it. Truth is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/the-real-is-near-you-do-not-have-to-seek-it-and-a-man-who-seeks-truth/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“We should not be ashamed to acknowledge truth from whatever source it comes to us, even if it is brought to us by former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kindi-muammad-ibn-ysuf/we-should-not-be-ashamed-to-acknowledge-truth-from-whatever-source-it/) al-Kindi Muammad ibn Ysuf > [Anyone who seeks truth seeks God, whether or not he realizes it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-stein/anyone-who-seeks-truth-seeks-god-whether-or-not-he-realizes-it/) [Edith Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-stein/) ## 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 Fanaticism quotes > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [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/) > [Motherland is our property and we have right to handle our properties as pleased. The jokes about death for the sake of the motherland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/motherland-is-our-property-and-we-have-right-to-handle-our-properties/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [Your best friends are your principles, if you havent them, dont look for another friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/your-best-friends-are-your-principles-if-you-havent-them-dont-look/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [A strong saying is not afraid of criticism, because it includes all the answers to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-strong-saying-is-not-afraid-of-criticism-because-it-includes-all/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“Fanatics are those who, when following a doctrine becomes inconvenient, make up rules of their own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathryn-louis/fanatics-are-those-who-when-following-a-doctrine-becomes-inconvenient/) [Cathryn Louis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathryn-louis/) > [Critics of the war plans (including myself) have pointed to the disastrous political results that must be expected: Iraq would break into three parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uri-avnery/critics-of-the-war-plans-including-myself-have-pointed-to-the/) [Uri Avnery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uri-avnery/) > [A noble person stands up as though a theater curtain rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-noble-person-stands-up-as-though-a-theater-curtain-rises/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [Very often, fanaticism begins at home. It begins inside the family. It begins with the urge to change our kin, to change our beloved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/very-often-fanaticism-begins-at-home-it-begins-inside-the-family-it/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Every isolated passion, is, in isolation, insane; sanity may be defined as synthesis of insanities. Every dominant passion generates a dominant fear, the fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/every-isolated-passion-is-in-isolation-insane-sanity-may-be-defined/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [ \[Friedrich\] Nietzsche said something marvellous, he said "Madness is not a consequence of uncertainty but of certainty", and this is fanaticism. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/friedrich-nietzsche-said-something-marvellous-he-said-madness-is-not/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Fanatics can justify practically any atrocity to themselves. The more untenable their position becomes, the harder they hold to it, and the worse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/fanatics-can-justify-practically-any-atrocity-to-themselves-the-more/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [Fanaticism displays itself in the masses; but the masses were rarely fanaticised; and the crimes ascribed to it were commonly due to the calculations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/fanaticism-displays-itself-in-the-masses-but-the-masses-were-rarely/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [The Bible parable says that while men slept, the enemy sowed tares among the wheat. A boy who rises at 4:30 to deliver papers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/the-bible-parable-says-that-while-men-slept-the-enemy-sowed-tares/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) [Browse all 468 Fanaticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanaticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The monster, fanaticism, still exists, and whoever seeks after truth will run the risk of being persecuted.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-monster-fanaticism-still-exists-and-whoever-seeks-after-truth/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fanaticism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-monster-fanaticism-still-exists-and-whoever-seeks-after-truth/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/voltaire-173_fanaticism_the-monster-fanaticism-still-exists-and_3132488.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/voltaire-173_fanaticism_the-monster-fanaticism-still-exists-and_3132488.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/voltaire-173_fanaticism_the-monster-fanaticism-still-exists-and_3132488.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The monster, fanaticism, still exists, and whoever seeks after truth will run the risk of being persecuted.” — 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": "The monster, fanaticism, still exists, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-monster-fanaticism-still-exists-and-whoever-seeks-after-truth/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-monster-fanaticism-still-exists-and-whoever-seeks-after-truth/#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 } } ] } ```