Original artwork, not a still
The Friends of Voltaire · 1906
It is by character and not by intellect the world is won.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Hall is judging d'Alembert: a brilliant mind undone by his flaws, so what finally counts is who you are, not how clever you are. Lifted out of its chapter it reads as a motto about leadership and self-improvement, but it began as one writer's verdict on a mathematician.
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In context
Spoilers for The Friends of VoltaireShow the scene
This is the closing sentence of the first chapter of Evelyn Beatrice Hall's The Friends of Voltaire (John Murray, 1906), published under the pen name S. G. Tallentyre. The chapter, "D'Alembert: The Thinker", says the mathematician owed his lasting fame to his intellect but his sorrows and failures to the weakness of his character. Hall then turns to the next chapter, on Diderot. The book is a set of portraits of Voltaire's circle, and the sentence is Hall's own verdict on d'Alembert, not a saying of Voltaire's.
Sources (2)
- Project Gutenberg: The Friends of VoltaireChapter I, final sentenceReference checked
- Wikipedia: Evelyn Beatrice HallOpening paragraphReference checked
Context reviewed
