Life & Wisdom Quote by Voltaire

Voltaire turns a polite social gesture into a sly theory of acquisition. "By appreciation" sounds like etiquette, the kind of civility salon culture prized. Then he snaps the phrase into something sharper: admiration is a mode of ownership. Excellence, in this formulation, isn’t only produced by geniuses or guarded by institutions; it can be harvested by anyone with the taste to recognize it. The verb "make" implies agency, almost a craft. Appreciation isn’t passive applause, it’s an act that converts someone else’s achievement into your inner capital.

The subtext is characteristically Enlightenment: culture as portable property. In an era where literal property and inherited rank still defined most lives, Voltaire offers a loophole. You may not possess land, titles, or even political power, but you can possess Shakespeare, Newton, or a rival’s dazzling argument by understanding it and letting it recalibrate your mind. That’s also why "others" matters. He frames excellence as communal supply, not private hoard, undermining the aristocratic reflex to treat refinement as a bloodline.

There’s a second, more cynical edge. "Property" hints that appreciation can be self-serving, even predatory: we praise, we quote, we affiliate, we build identity by attaching ourselves to greatness. Voltaire, professional skeptic of hypocrisy, knows admiration can be a social currency as much as a moral virtue. The line works because it flatters the reader while warning them: your taste is power, and power always tempts.