Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderotʁo]; 5 October 1713 – 31 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent figure during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the Encyclopédie along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert...
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth5 October 1713
christian holy-prophet religion
There is not a Musselman[Muslim] alive who would not imagine that he was performing an action pleasing to God and his Holy Prophet by exterminating every Christian on earth, while the Christians are scarcely more tolerant on their side.
philosophy science firsts
The first step towards philosophy is incredulity.
atheism superstitions
Superstition is more injurious to God than atheism.
evil genius world
Evil always turns up in this world through some genius or other.
freedom men order
No man has received from nature the right to give orders to others. Freedom is a gift from heaven, and every individual of the same species has the right to enjoy it as soon as he is in enjoyment of his reason.
father order able
In order to get as much fame as one's father one has to much more able than he.
mad psychological harm
There is less harm to be suffered in being mad among madmen than in being sane all by oneself.
religious philosophy men
Posterity for the philosopher is what the other world is for the religious man.
philosophy firsts steps
What has not been examined impartially has not been well examined. Skepticism is therefore the first step towards truth.
order survival monsters
What is a monster? A being whose survival is incompatible with the existing order.
wise years forever
You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no heed. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, so all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last. You have all the fears of mortals and all the desires of immortals… What foolish forgetfulness of mortality to defer wise resolutions to the fiftieth or sixtieth year, and to intend to begin life at a point to which few have attained.
sublime essentials thieves
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.
memories philosophy medicine
We are all instruments endowed with feeling and memory. Our senses are so many strings that are struck by surrounding objects and that also frequently strike themselves.
wall views religion
Mankind have banned the Divinity from their presence; they have relegated him to a sanctuary; the walls of the temple restrict his view; he does not exist outside of it.