“Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
“From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
“[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)
“Happiest are the people who give most happiness to others”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
“All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception and without regard for anyone's feelings.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
“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)
“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 is the first step towards truth.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
“Whether God exists or does not exist, He has come to rank among the most sublime and useless truths.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
“There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
“Life is but a series of misunderstandings.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
“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)
“Oh! how near are genius and madness! Men imprison them and chain them, or raise statues to them.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
“The first step towards philosophy is incredulity.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
“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)
“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.”
― Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
“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)
“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)
"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)