Denis Diderot Quotes
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The first promise exchanged by two beings of flesh was at the foot of a rock that was crumbling into dust; they took as witness for their cons...
By Denis Diderot
The infant runs toward it with its eyes closed, the adult is stationary, the old man approaches it with his back turned.
By Denis Diderot
Power acquired by violence is only a usurpation, and lasts only as long as the force of him who commands prevails over that of those who obey.
By Denis Diderot
Only passions, and great passions, can raise the soul to great things. Without them there is no sublimity, either in morals or in creativity. ...
By Denis Diderot
No man has received from nature the right to give orders to others. Freedom is a gift from heaven, and every individual of the same species ha...
By Denis Diderot
In any country where talent and virtue produce no advancement, money will be the national god. Its inhabitants will either have to possess mon...
By Denis Diderot
I discuss with myself questions of politics, love, taste, or philosophy. I let my mind rove wantonly, give it free rein to follow any idea, wi...
By Denis Diderot
Bad company is as instructive as licentiousness. One makes up for the loss of one's innocence with the loss of one's prejudices.
By Denis Diderot
Impenetrable in their dissimulation, cruel in their vengeance, tenacious in their purposes, unscrupulous as to their methods, animated by profound and hidden hatred for the tyranny of man -- it is as though there exists among them an ever-present conspiracy toward domination, a sort of alliance like that subsisting among the priests of every country.
By Denis Diderot
When superstition is allowed to perform the task of old age in dulling the human temperament, we can say goodbye to all excellence in poetry, in painting, and in music.
By Denis Diderot
We are all instruments endowed with feeling and memory. Our senses are so many strings that are struck by surrounding objects and that also frequently strike themselves.
By Denis Diderot
Do you see this egg? With this you can topple every theological theory, every church or temple in the world.
By Denis Diderot
Only a very bad theologian would confuse the certainty that follows revelation with the truths that are revealed. They are entirely different things.
By Denis Diderot
The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.
By Denis Diderot
Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that aroused it.
By Denis Diderot
Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in order always means getting other people under your control.
By Denis Diderot
Morals are in all countries the result of legislation and government; they are not African or Asian or European: they are good or bad.
By Denis Diderot
There is no kind of harassment that a man may not inflict on a woman with impunity in civilized societies.
By Denis Diderot
The general interest of the masses might take the place of the insight of genius if it were allowed freedom of action.
By Denis Diderot
The decisions of law courts should never be printed: in the long run, they form a counter authority to the law.
By Denis Diderot
There are three principal means of acquiring knowledge available to us: observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation collects facts; reflection combines them; experimentation verifies the result of that combination. Our observation of nature must be diligent, our reflection profound, and our experiments exact. We rarely see these three means combined; and for this reason, creative geniuses are not common.
By Denis Diderot
It is not human nature we should accuse but the despicable conventions that pervert it.
By Denis Diderot
Gaiety --a quality of ordinary men. Genius always presupposes some disorder in the machine.
By Denis Diderot
The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion.
By Denis Diderot
Every man has his dignity. I'm willing to forget mine, but at my own discretion and not when someone else tells me to.
By Denis Diderot
The possibility of divorce renders both marriage partners stricter in their observance of the duties they owe to each other. Divorces help to improve morals and to increase the population.
By Denis Diderot
It is said that desire is a product of the will, but the converse is in fact true: will is a product of desire.
By Denis Diderot