--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To the wicked, everything serves as…" description: "\"To the wicked, everything serves as pretext.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/voltaire-173_pretext_to-the-wicked-everything-serves-as-prete_2515970.png" --- # To the wicked, everything serves as pretext. ![“To the wicked, everything serves as pretext.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/voltaire-173_pretext_to-the-wicked-everything-serves-as-prete_2515970.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/voltaire-173_pretext_to-the-wicked-everything-serves-as-prete_2515970.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/voltaire-173_pretext_to-the-wicked-everything-serves-as-prete_2515970.png) > “To the wicked, everything serves as pretext.” [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. Wicked people manipulate circumstances to justify their actions. **In simple terms:** Evil rationalizes its deeds. Key Takeaway Question motives behind actions. Themes morality manipulation justification Mood cautious critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - political discourse - personal relationships - legal defenses - media narratives Key Concepts Ethics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern genuine intent from manipulation? - What safeguards can prevent abuse of pretexts? A Different Perspective Not all actions are truly pretextual; some are genuine. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pretext](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretext/) [Serves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serves/) [Serves Pretext](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serves-pretext-1202337/) [Wicked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wicked/) [Wicked Serves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wicked-serves-1202336/) ## Related quotes > [Whoever serves his country well has no need of ancestors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/whoever-serves-his-country-well-has-no-need-of-ancestors/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/who-serves-his-country-well-has-no-need-of-ancestors/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [But the greatest menace to our civilization today is the conflict between giant organized systems of self-righteousness - each system only too delighted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/but-the-greatest-menace-to-our-civilization-today-is-the-conflict/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [War is the greatest of all crimes; and yet there is no aggressor who does not color his crime with the pretext of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/war-is-the-greatest-of-all-crimes-and-yet-there-is-no-aggressor-who/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [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/) > [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/) > [Interestingly enough, my more high-profile things are in uniform. But if you look at my full body of work, there's a lot of stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cudlitz/interestingly-enough-my-more-high-profile-things-are-in-uniform-but/) [Michael Cudlitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cudlitz/) > [When it comes to salt, what was really staggering to me is that the industry itself is totally hooked on salt. It is this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moss/when-it-comes-to-salt-what-was-really-staggering-to-me-is-that-the/) [Michael Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moss/) > [Politics, according to the Social Doctrine of the Church, is one of the highest forms of charity, because it serves the common good. 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You have to reel it in to drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-gaghan/life-serves-up-satire-unfortunately-or-fortunately-i-don-t-know-you/) [Stephen Gaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-gaghan/) > [My grandfather is a retired Marine, and I've always had a great deal of respect for anyone who serves our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-pickler/my-grandfather-is-a-retired-marine-and-i-ve-always-had-a-great-deal/) [Kellie Pickler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-pickler/) > [Just as Wall Street needs to break the hold of the bonus culture, which drives risk-taking that is rational for individuals but damaging to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-schekman/just-as-wall-street-needs-to-break-the-hold-of-the-bonus-culture/) [Randy Schekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-schekman/) > [Speculating on the future serves for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thiago-alcantara/speculating-on-the-future-serves-for-nothing/) [Thiago Alcantara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thiago-alcantara/) ## 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 Pretext quotes > [We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respecting-artist-must-not-fold-his/) [Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/) > [Treacherous assassins, enemies of the people, and worthy of everyone's ridicule are those who, under the pretext of guiding future generations, teach them an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/treacherous-assassins-enemies-of-the-people-and-worthy-of-everyone-s/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [“He said to himself, that this child had a right to know life before renouncing it, that to deprive her in advance, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-said-to-himself-that-this-child-had-a-right-to-know-life-before/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Of all hostile feelings, envy is perhaps the hardest to be subdued, because hardly any one owns it even to himself, but looks out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/of-all-hostile-feelings-envy-is-perhaps-the-hardest-to-be-subdued/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [ \[Censors are\] people with secret attractions to various temptations... They are defending themselves under the pretext of defending others, because at heart they fear… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-jones/censors-are-people-with-secret-attractions-to-various-temptations/) [Ernest Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-jones/) > [When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida's ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held \[as views of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lewis-hinkle/when-observers-look-back-50-years-from-now-the-arguments-supporting/) [Robert Lewis Hinkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lewis-hinkle/) > [The tone and tendency of liberalism...is to attack the institutions of the country under the name of reform and to make war on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-tone-and-tendency-of-liberalism-is-to-attack-the-institutions-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [War always reaches the depths of horror because of idiots who perpetuate terror from generation to generation under the pretext of vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-sajer/war-always-reaches-the-depths-of-horror-because-of-idiots-who/) [Guy Sajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-sajer/) > [I wrote a study about this question, The Lessons of October, which served as a pretext for my elimination from the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/i-wrote-a-study-about-this-question-the-lessons-of-october-which/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [There is nothing an addict likes more, or that serves as better pretext for continuing his present way of life, than to place the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/there-is-nothing-an-addict-likes-more-or-that-serves-as-better/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [There is no family in America without a clock, and consequently there is no fair pretext for the usual Sunday medley of dreadful sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-no-family-in-america-without-a-clock-and-consequently-there/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The enemy is only a pretext to test our strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-enemy-is-only-a-pretext-to-test-our-strength/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [...the great movement of apostasy being organized in every country for the establishment of a One-World Church which shall have neither dogmas, nor hierarchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-x/the-great-movement-of-apostasy-being-organized-in-every-country-for/) [Pope Pius X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-x/) > [Often, the pretexts for starting a war are not real shortages of land, food or fuel, but rather perceptions - like fear, honor and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-davis-hanson/often-the-pretexts-for-starting-a-war-are-not-real-shortages-of-land/) [Victor Davis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-davis-hanson/) > [Temporary deviations from fundamental principles are always more or less dangerous. When the first pretext fails, those who become interested in prolonging the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/temporary-deviations-from-fundamental-principles-are-always-more-or/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) [Browse all 195 Pretext quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretext/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To the wicked, everything serves as pretext.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Voltaire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/to-the-wicked-everything-serves-as-pretext/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pretext" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/to-the-wicked-everything-serves-as-pretext/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/voltaire-173_pretext_to-the-wicked-everything-serves-as-prete_2515970.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/voltaire-173_pretext_to-the-wicked-everything-serves-as-prete_2515970.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/709/voltaire-173_pretext_to-the-wicked-everything-serves-as-prete_2515970.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To the wicked, everything serves as pretext.” — 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": "To the wicked, everything serves as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/to-the-wicked-everything-serves-as-pretext/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/to-the-wicked-everything-serves-as-pretext/#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 } } ] } ```