“A witty saying proves nothing.”
This quote has no known author and is recorded as an anonymous proverb.
About this quote
Voltaire was talking with a sceptic about how easily a good phrase substitutes for an argument. The line is now used by people defending reason against cleverness, and by people who want to sound clever, which is exactly the tension Voltaire was pointing at.
Source: The Dinner with Count de Boulainvilliers