If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.

More from Épître à l'Auteur du Livre des Trois Imposteurs (1770)

• Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung.
• A witty saying proves nothing.
• Crush the infamous thing. Letter to d'Alembert, June 23, 1760.
• God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.
• History is little else than a picture of human crimes and misfortunes. L'Ing'nu. Chap. x. (1767.)
• Indeed, history is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes.