<P> Voltaire 's works , especially his private letters , frequently contain the word `` l'infâme '' and the expression `` écrasez l'infâme '' , or `` crush the infamous '' . The phrase refers to abuses of the people by royalty and the clergy that Voltaire saw around him , and the superstition and intolerance that the clergy bred within the people . He had felt these effects in his own exiles , the burnings of his books and those of many others , and in the hideous sufferings of Jean Calas and François - Jean de la Barre . He stated in one of his most famous quotes that `` Superstition sets the whole world in flames ; philosophy quenches them . '' </P>
<P> Voltaire 's works , especially his private letters , frequently contain the word `` l'infâme '' and the expression `` écrasez l'infâme '' , or `` crush the infamous '' . The phrase refers to abuses of the people by royalty and the clergy that Voltaire saw around him , and the superstition and intolerance that the clergy bred within the people . He had felt these effects in his own exiles , the burnings of his books and those of many others , and in the hideous sufferings of Jean Calas and François - Jean de la Barre . He stated in one of his most famous quotes that `` Superstition sets the whole world in flames ; philosophy quenches them . '' </P>
what is the meaning of the phrase ecrasez l infame
what is the meaning of the phrase ecrasez l infame
crush the infamous
crush the infamous