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Who really said it

Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do

Written by Voltaire 1694–1778 · French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosophe
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Voltaire really did write this — but about a minister of state, not “every man.” The line comes from his history Le Siècle de Louis XIV (1751): “in the calm he is guilty of all the good he does not do.” The familiar universal wording is a later paraphrase that broadens his point about those who hold power.

Last verified 7 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do” Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do. —commonly credited to Voltaire; it is a paraphrase of his line in The Age of Louis XIV (1751), where he wrote that a minister of state "is guilty of all the good he does not do."

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Provenance

Voltaire on the duty of a minister

Work
Le Siècle de Louis XIV (The Age of Louis XIV)
First published
1751
Where
Chapter on the state of France to the death of Cardinal Mazarin (1661)
Popular form
A generalized paraphrase — not Voltaire’s exact words

A minister of state is excusable for the harm he does when the helm of government has forced his hand in a storm; but in the calm he is guilty of all the good he does not do. ↑ Voltaire wrote ‘a minister of state’ — the popular version swaps in ‘every man’

Voltaire’s point is about those who hold power: in a crisis a minister may be forgiven the harm forced on him, but in calm times he answers for the good he fails to do. The original French reads “Un ministre… il est coupable de tout le bien qu’il ne fait pas.”

Voltaire on Wikiquote — sourced line, with the short form flagged as a paraphrase

How we traced it

  • Wikiquote lists the full sentence as sourced to Le Siècle de Louis XIV ↗ and notes “Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do” as an unsourced paraphrase or variant translation.
  • The scholarly Littré dictionary ↗ quotes the French original and cites it to “Louis XIV, 6.”
  • Popular quote sites such as The Quotations Page ↗ carry the short “Every man…” form with no primary source at all.
Public domain

Voltaire died in 1778 and Le Siècle de Louis XIV (1751) is long in the public domain; the popular English paraphrase is likewise free to quote.

This reflects the original work, which is public domain. If your exact English wording comes from a specific modern translation, that translation may itself still be under copyright — check the edition you quote.

Fact-check

A real quote, quietly rewritten

The attribution to Voltaire is correct — the distortion is in the words. Voltaire wrote about a government minister in a specific political setting; the popular version silently promotes the remark to a universal moral law about everyone.

a minister of state paraphrase

Voltaire’s sentence in Le Siècle de Louis XIV ↗ reads “a minister of state… is guilty of all the good he does not do” — a judgment on those who wield power, not on every person. The French original (“Un ministre…”) is confirmed by the Littré dictionary ↗.

The words are genuinely Voltaire’s, but he aimed them at ministers of state, not at mankind at large — per Wikiquote ↗ and Littré ↗.

Context

Why the wording matters

The full sentence is a piece of political ethics, not a personal self-help maxim. Voltaire draws a line between two situations: a minister forced by crisis (“the helm of government… in a storm”) may be excused the harm he causes, but in calm times he is fully answerable for the good he neglects.

Stripped to “Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do,” the line loses that context and becomes a sweeping charge against everyone — which is why it now circulates on posters and in graduation speeches far from its original subject.

He aimed it at those who hold power — not at everyone.

The original passage in context

In Le Siècle de Louis XIV Voltaire applies the thought to Cardinal Mazarin, adding that Mazarin “did good to no one but himself and those related to him.” The remark is part of his broader project of judging statesmen by their record.

The generalization to “every man” appears to have entered circulation through English translations and quotation collections, where it is repeated without the surrounding sentence about ministers and storms.

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Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Character Justice

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Voltaire — Wikiquoteen.wikiquote.org

Lists the full sentence as sourced to Le Siècle de Louis XIV and flags the “Every man…” short form as an unsourced paraphrase.
Littré: ‘Un ministre est excusable…’littre.reverso.net

Scholarly French dictionary quoting the original passage, sourced to Voltaire’s Louis XIV, ch. 6.
The Works of Voltaire, Vol. XII: Age of Louis XIVoll.libertyfund.org

Full English text of the 1751 history in which the line appears (Liberty Fund primary edition).
The Age of Louis XIV (scanned edition)archive.org

Digitized print edition of Voltaire’s history for reading the passage in context.
Quote #2307 — The Quotations Pagequotationspage.com

Typical popular listing of the short paraphrase attributed to Voltaire with no source given.
The Age of Louis XIV — Britannicabritannica.com

Background on the 1751 work of history where Voltaire’s remark originates.

The true author

About Voltaire

Voltaire

1694–1778 · French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosophe

Voltaire was the pen name of François-Marie Arouet, one of the leading writers of the French Enlightenment, celebrated for his wit, his campaigns against intolerance and injustice, and works from Candide to his histories. Le Siècle de Louis XIV (1751), where this line appears, was a pioneering “history of civilization” in which he judged rulers and ministers by the good they achieved — or failed to.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Voltaire. Le Siècle de Louis XIV. 1751. Ch. VI (“A minister of state… is guilty of all the good he does not do”); the popular “Every man…” wording is a later paraphrase.

MLA (9th ed.)

Voltaire. Le Siècle de Louis XIV. Ch. 6, 1751.

APA (7th ed.)

Voltaire. (1751). Le siècle de Louis XIV.

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Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do’?” Last verified 7 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/every-man-is-guilty-of-all-the-good-he-did-not-do

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