“On meurt deux Source fois, je le vois bien : > > Cesser d’aimer & d’être aimable, > > C’est une mort insupportable : > > Cesser de vivre, ce n’est rien.”
This poignant stanza, often attributed to Voltaire, captures a profound and unsettling truth about the human experience. It translates to: “We die twice, I see it clearly: To cease to love and be lovable is an unbearable death; To cease to live is nothing.” While its exact origin is debated among scholars, its sentiment is pure Voltaire. It reflects a lifetime of observing suffering, challenging dogma, and championing a realistic, empathetic humanism. This quote is not just a clever turn of phrase; it is the culmination of a philosophical journey forged in the fires of personal hardship and historical catastrophe.
To understand its depth, we must first look at the world Voltaire | Biography, Works, & Facts | Britannica inhabited. The 18th century was the Age of Enlightenment. Thinkers across Europe championed reason and logic. Furthermore, a specific philosophical idea, known as optimism, gained significant traction. Promoted by figures like Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, this philosophy argued that a rational God created the best of all possible worlds. Therefore, everything that happens, even evil and suffering, must be part of a greater, divine plan. Voltaire initially found this idea appealing, but his own experiences would soon lead him to question it fiercely.
The Cracks in Optimism: Personal and Global Trauma
Voltaire was no stranger to injustice. Source His sharp wit and criticism of the French monarchy earned him imprisonment in the Bastille and long periods of exile. He saw firsthand how arbitrary power could crush individuals. However, a single cataclysmic event on November 1, 1755, shattered any remaining faith he had in philosophical optimism. On that day, a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated Lisbon, Portugal. It killed tens of thousands in a horrific display of natural violence.
For Voltaire, this was not a part of a divine plan. It was meaningless, brutal suffering. How could this be the best of all possible worlds? He channeled his outrage into his famous “Poem on the Lisbon Disaster.” This work directly attacked the optimists who tried to rationalize the tragedy. Consequently, the earthquake became a central theme in his masterpiece, the satirical novella Candide, or Optimism, published in 1759. This book mercilessly lampoons the idea that all is for the best, following its naive protagonist through a relentless series of horrific events.
The Two Deaths Explained
The quote about dying twice perfectly encapsulates this hard-won worldview. It proposes a radical re-evaluation of life and death. Let’s break down its powerful message.
First, Voltaire identifies the “unbearable death”: to cease to love and be lovable. This is not a physical death but a spiritual and emotional one. It describes a state of total isolation. A person in this state has lost the capacity for connection, empathy, and affection. They are detached from the human community. For Voltaire, a life without these essential emotional bonds was a hollow existence, a true hell on earth. Indeed, this living death is unbearable because it strips away everything that makes life meaningful.
In contrast, Voltaire declares that to “cease to live is nothing.” This is a deliberately provocative statement. He does not mean that life is worthless. Instead, he argues that the mere biological cessation of life is insignificant compared to the horror of an emotionally barren existence. Physical death is a simple, unavoidable end. The death of the heart, however, is a prolonged and agonizing state of non-being. This idea was a direct assault on religious doctrines that focused on the afterlife while sometimes ignoring the very real suffering of the present.
A Legacy of Humanistic Realism
Ultimately, Voltaire’s message is profoundly humanistic. He urges us to focus on the tangible, the real, and the emotional. Instead of seeking comfort in abstract philosophical systems or promises of a better world after death, he tells us to cultivate our connections here and now. The antidote to the meaningless suffering he saw in the world was not blind optimism but active engagement, empathy, and love.
This quote serves as a powerful reminder of our priorities. It asks us what truly constitutes a life well-lived. Is it mere existence, or is it the richness of our relationships and our ability to give and receive love? For Voltaire, the answer was clear. The greatest tragedy is not to die, but to live without ever having truly connected with another soul. It is a lesson that resonates just as strongly in our modern world as it did in the tumultuous 18th century.