Denis Diderot
men free king strangle priest entrails
“Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
fanaticism barbarism step
“From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
philosopher priest kill
“[L]e philosophe n'a jamais tué de prêtres et le prêtre a tué beaucoup de philosophes...
(The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.)”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
happy people give
“Happiest are the people who give most happiness to others”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
things examine investigate regard feeling
“All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception and without regard for anyone's feelings.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
greed lie flatter sip truth bitter
“We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
nation belief god law people honest advanced
“A nation which thinks that it is belief in God and not good law which makes people honest does not seem to me very advanced.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
scepticism step truth
“Scepticism is the first step towards truth.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
god exist sublime useless truth
“Whether God exists or does not exist, He has come to rank among the most sublime and useless truths.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
moral precept inconvenience
“There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
life series misunderstandings
“Life is but a series of misunderstandings.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
centuries number books grow difficult learn universe
“As long as the centuries continue to unfold, the number of books will grow continually, and one can predict that a time will come when it will be almost as difficult to learn anything from books as from the direct study of the whole universe. It will be almost as convenient to search for some bit of truth concealed in nature as it will be to find it hidden away in an immense multitude of bound volumes.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
genius madness near imprison chain statue
“Oh! how near are genius and madness! Men imprison them and chain them, or raise statues to them.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
step philosophy credulity
“The first step towards philosophy is incredulity.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
dangerous madmen religion society disrupt
“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.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
passion soul great things
“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
god chastity poverty obedience no
“Monsignor…you are asking whether I promise God chastity, poverty, and obedience. I heard what you said and my answer is no”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
encyclopedia collect knowledge disseminate centuries
“Indeed, the purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect knowledge disseminated around the globe; to set forth its general system to the men with whom we live, and transmit it to those who will come after us, so that the work of preceding centuries will not become useless to the centuries to come; and so that our offspring, becoming better instructed, will at the same time become more virtuous and happy, and that we should not die without having rendered a service to the human race in the future years to come.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
books universe search information overload
"As long as the centuries continue to unfold, the number of books will grow continually, and one can predict that a time will come when it will be almost as difficult to learn anything from books as from the direct study of the whole universe. It will be almost as convenient to search for some bit of truth concealed in nature as it will be to find it hidden away in an immense multitude of bound volumes."
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)