from evelyn beatrice hall, a British woman writer. From Voltaire's Friends.

original sentence (French): je ne suis pas d 'accord ave ce que vous dites, Maisje me battrai jusque' à la mortpour que vous ayez le droit de le Dire.

The original sentence is: I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.?

It is said to be Voltaire's "famous saying". This sentence is so widely circulated that even in Voltaire's native France, it is regarded as a "wise saying".

Hall herself later admitted in a letter on May 9, 1939 that she "mistakenly" put this sentence in quotation marks, which led to readers' misunderstanding.

She wrote in the letter: "The sentence you read in my book Voltaire in Letters,' I don't agree with you, but I will defend your right to speak to the death', is my own words, and I shouldn't put it in quotation marks. The mistake I made unintentionally misled you and made you think it was a sentence of Voltaire. Please accept my apology. "

This letter from Hall was later included in a book published in 1943. Charles Wiltz, curator of the Voltaire Museum in Geneva, mentioned this matter in a TV interview in 1994 to prove that Voltaire had never said or written this "famous saying". Extended information

The related story of this sentence:

It is said that Voltaire and Rousseau in France disagreed in those years. Rousseau wrote a book that Voltaire criticized for nothing, but when Voltaire learned that the authorities were going to ban Rousseau's book, he stood up and defended it. He said to Rousseau, "I firmly oppose your opinion, but I will defend your right to say such a thing to the death!"

Voltaire's famous saying:

1. Speaking one's true thoughts is a great comfort to life.

2. Ideas are like beards, which cannot grow out when they are immature.

3. Thought resides in the body, but even so, the person with the strongest body is not necessarily an outstanding thinker.

4. Generally speaking, different misfortunes make happiness. Therefore, the more unfortunate it happens again and again, the better it is.

5. The more books you read without thinking, the more you will feel that you know. And when you read and think more, you will see more clearly that you know very little.

6. When we read a good book for the first time, we seemed to find a friend. When we read this good book again, it seems that we are reunited with our old friends.