“No man has received from nature the right to command his fellow human beings.”
Nature
“Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.”
GreatAll Quotes by 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.”
Art“There is only one passion, the passion for happiness.”
Happiness“The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.”
Great“Good music is very close to primitive language.”
Music“Morals are in all countries the result of legislation and government they are not African or Asian or European: they are good or bad.”
Government“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“It is not human nature we should accuse but the despicable conventions that pervert it.”
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“Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.”
Great“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“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.”
Power“Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”
Government“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.”
Nature“The best doctor is the one you run to and can't find.”
Best“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“The general interest of the masses might take the place of the insight of genius if it were allowed freedom of action.”
Freedom“Pithy sentences are like sharp nails which force truth upon our memory.”
Truth“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“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