The most celebrated words that François-Marie Arouet – better known by his pen name, Voltaire – allegedly wrote over his long public career were, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Unfortunately, as happens with distressing regularity when it comes to memorable quotes, it seems those words were never actually written or uttered by the estimable French philosopher. The killjoys who run the Quote Investigator website , among many others, have determined that the famous declaration was instead written by Voltaire’s biographer as a way to sum up his attitude toward a rival.

Oh, well. Whether Voltaire actually said it, or whether it was said about him, it remains a worthwhile measure of an open mind: a standard for fair play, a canon against

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