“Poetry must have something in it that is barbaric, vast and wild.”
Poetry
“We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.”
TruthAll Quotes by Denis Diderot
“There is only one passion, the passion for happiness.”
Happiness“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.”
Marriage“The best doctor is the one you run to and can't find.”
Best“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.”
Age“There are three principal means of acquiring knowledge... observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation collects facts reflection combines them experimentation verifies the result of that combination.”
Knowledge“Good music is very close to primitive language.”
Music“It is not human nature we should accuse but the despicable conventions that pervert it.”
Nature“If there is one realm in which it is essential to be sublime, it is in wickedness. You spit on a petty thief, but you can't deny a kind of respect for the great criminal.”
Respect“Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.”
Great“The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.”
Great“No man has received from nature the right to command his fellow human beings.”
Nature“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.”
Faith“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.”
Death“Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”
Government“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.”
Age“There are things I can't force. I must adjust. There are times when the greatest change needed is a change of my viewpoint.”
Change“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.”
Religion“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.”
Art“We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.”
Truth