The phrase “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” is widely attributed to Voltaire, but cannot be found in his writings. With good reason. The phrase was invented by a later author as an epitome of his attitude. It appeared in <The Friends of Voltaire> (1906) … Evelyn Beatrice Hall herself claimed later that she had been paraphrasing Voltaire’s words in his <Essay on Tolerance>(1762): “Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too.”
“In his <A Book of French Quotations> (1963), Norbert Guterman suggested that the probable source for the quotation was a line in a 6 February 1770 letter to M. le Riche: ‘Monsieur l’abbé, I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.’”
