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
plato atheism age
At an early age I sucked up the milk of Homer, Virgil, Horace, Terence, Anacreon, Plato and Euripides, diluted with that of Moses and the prophets.
doe painter
You can be sure that a painter reveals himself in his work as much as and more than a writer does in his.
men genius madness
Oh! how near are genius and madness! Men imprison them and chain them, or raise statues to them.
sublime useless doe
Whether God exists or does not exist, He has come to rank among the most sublime and useless truths.
justice literature firsts
Justice is the first virtue of those who command, and stops the complaints of those who obey.
order literature sometimes
In order to shake a hypothesis, it is sometimes not necessary to do anything more than push it as far as it will go.
happiness men quality
Gaiety is a quality of ordinary men. Genius always presupposes some disorder in the machine.
men theatre wicked
The pit of a theatre is the one place where the tears of virtuous and wicked men alike are mingled.
patriotic patriotism ephemeral
Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that aroused it.
religion different revelations
Only a very bad theologian would confuse the certainty that follows revelation with the truths that are revealed. They are entirely different things.
philosophy science firsts
The first step towards philosophy is incredulity.
love life giving
It has been said that love robs those who have it of their wit, and gives it to those who have none.
death running hate
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.
memories literature nails
Pithy sentences are like sharp nails which force truth upon our memory.