“We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.”
Truth
“Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that aroused it.”
PatriotismAll Quotes by Denis Diderot
“It is not human nature we should accuse but the despicable conventions that pervert it.”
Nature“Pithy sentences are like sharp nails which force truth upon our memory.”
Truth“Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that aroused it.”
Patriotism“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“The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.”
Great“The general interest of the masses might take the place of the insight of genius if it were allowed freedom of action.”
Freedom“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“Poetry must have something in it that is barbaric, vast and wild.”
Poetry“Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”
Government“No man has received from nature the right to command his fellow human beings.”
Nature“The best doctor is the one you run to and can't find.”
Best“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“There is only one passion, the passion for happiness.”
Happiness“Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.”
Great“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“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“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 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“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