I want to recognize Harvard Professor Steven Pinker for concisely rendering the quote of the day in the video clip below. Professor Pinker draws on the famous observation in Voltaire’s Essay on Universal History that the Holy Roman Empire was “neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.” I have drawn on that quote a few times myself to make a similar observation regarding the Southern Poverty Law Center, as in “Voltaire, call your office.”
“I have nothing against diversity, equity, and inclusion. But as Voltaire said about the Holy Roman Empire: it was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.” pic.twitter.com/BDq5zp7fts
— Steven Pinker (@sapinker) August 20, 2025
