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Denis Diderot

Denis Diderot Quotes

Philosopher

Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer who played a pivotal role in the Enlightenment. He is best known for his work on the Encyclopédie, which aimed to compile all the knowledge of the time into a single work.

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Famous Denis Diderot Quotes

“Scepticism is the first step toward truth.”

Firsts Philosophy Science Literature Steps First Steps Phylosophy Incredulity

Author:Denis Diderot

“If you want me to believe in God, you must make me touch him.”

Ifs Want Believe Literature Atheism Believe In God Want Me You Want Me If You Want Me

Book:Thoughts on the interpretation of nature: and other philosophical works

Source: Thoughts on the interpretation of nature: and other philosophical works

“You have to make it happen.”

Happens Literature Make It Happen

Author:Denis Diderot

“It is very important not to mistake hemlock for parsley, but to believe or not believe in God is not important at all.”

Believe Important God Literature Religious Mistake Believe In God Hemlock Parsley

Author:Denis Diderot

“Disturbances in society are never more fearful than when those who are stirring up the trouble can use the pretext of religion to mask their true designs.”

Use Religion Literature Trouble Design Revolution Revolutionary Mask Fearful Stirring Disturbance Pretext

Book:Selected Writings

Source: Selected Writings

“Although a man may wear fine clothing, if he lives peacefully; and is good, self-possessed, has faith and is pure; and if he does not hurt any living being, he is a holy man.”

Ifs Men May Doe Self Literature Hurt Fine Holy Pure Have Faith Clothings Possessed Holy Man

Author:Denis Diderot

“When science, art, literature, and philosophy are simply the manifestation of personality they are on a level where glorious and dazzling achievements are possible, which can make a man's name live for thousands of years.”

Men Years Art Philosophy Literature Names Levels Personality Achievement Manifestation Glorious Dazzling

Author:Denis Diderot

“The infant runs toward it with its eyes closed, the adult is stationary, the old man approaches it with his back turned.”

Men Eye Running Literature Approach Adults Old Man Infant Stationary

Book:Selected Writings

Source: Selected Writings

“There is no kind of harassment that a man may not inflict on a woman with impunity in civilized societies.”

Men Kind May Literature Civilized Harassment Impunity Civilized Society

Book:Selected Writings

Source: Selected Writings

“Every man has his dignity. I'm willing to forget mine, but at my own discretion and not when someone else tells me to.”

Men Literature My Own Forget Mines Willing Dignity Every Man Discretion

Book:Selected Writings

Source: Selected Writings

“Good music is very close to primitive language.”

Literature Language Music Is Primitive

Author:Denis Diderot

“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.”

Mean Reason Three Literature Common Creativity Creative Genius Reflection Experience Profound Experiments Observation Diligent Creative Genius

Book:The irresistible Diderot

Source: The irresistible Diderot

“The God of the Christians is a father who makes much of his apples, and very little of his children.”

Children Littles Christian Father Literature Apples

Author: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.”

Long Lasts Literature Force Power Violence Command Denial Usurpation

Author:Denis Diderot

“The blood of Jesus Christ can cover a multitude of sins, it seems to me.”

Seems Literature Jesus Christ Sin Blood Jesus Christ Multitudes Blood Of Jesus

Book:Selected Writings

Source: Selected Writings

“Gaiety is a quality of ordinary men. Genius always presupposes some disorder in the machine.”

Men Happiness Literature Quality Genius Ordinary Machines Disorder Ordinary Man Gaiety

Book:Selected Writings

Source: Selected Writings

“In order to shake a hypothesis, it is sometimes not necessary to do anything more than push it as far as it will go.”

Sometimes Order Literature Shakes Hypothesis

Book:Selected Writings

Source: Selected Writings

“Justice is the first virtue of those who command, and stops the complaints of those who obey.”

Firsts Literature Justice Virtue Command Complaints

Author: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.”

Country Government Literature Results Moral Morality Europe Legislation Asian

Author:Denis Diderot

“People praise virtue, but they hate it, they run away from it. It freezes you to death, and in this world you've got to keep your feet warm.”

People World Running Death Hate Literature Virtue Feet This World Praise Warm Running Away Freeze Hate People

Book:Selected Writings

Source: Selected Writings

“Pithy sentences are like sharp nails which force truth upon our memory.”

Literature Force Memories Sentences Nails Our Memories Pithy

Author:Denis Diderot

“The decisions of law courts should never be printed: in the long run, they form a counter authority to the law.”

Should Long Running Form Law Literature Decision Authority Ears Court Lawyer Long Runs Printed Law Courts

Author:Denis Diderot

“There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it.”

Inspirational Doe Literature Moral Morality Inconvenient

Author:Denis Diderot

“We are constantly railing against the passions; we ascribe to them all of man's afflictions, and we forget that they are also the source of all his pleasures.”

Men Suffering Passion Literature Forget Pleasure Source

Author: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.”

Helping Literature Moral Possibility Duty Increase Population Divorce Partners Divorced Observance After Divorce Happy Divorce Marriage Divorce Marriage And Divorce Inspirational Divorce

Book:Selected Writings

Source: Selected Writings

“Genius is present in every age, but the men carrying it within them remain benumbed unless extraordinary events occur to heat up and melt the mass so that it flows forth.”

Men Age Literature Events Genius Mass Flow Extraordinary Heat Artistic Genius Geniality

Book:Selected Writings

Source: Selected Writings