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
bitter drink drop lie swallow truth women
Women swallow at one mouthful the lie that flatters, and drink drop by drop the truth that is bitter
ignorance prejudice
Ignorance is less remote from the truth than prejudice.
cat
There are cats and cats.
miracle absurdity prove
To prove the Gospels by a miracle is to prove an absurdity by something contrary to nature.
father order able
In order to get as much fame as one's father one has to much more able than he.
fiction easy tales
How easy it is to tell tales!
mean power order
Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in order always means getting other people under your control.
literature language music-is
Good music is very close to primitive language.
country europe government
Morals are in all countries the result of legislation and government; they are not African or Asian or European: they are good or bad.
beautiful character eye
I am more affected by the attractions of virtue than by the deformities of vice; I turn gently away from the wicked and I fly to meet the good. If there is in a literary work, in a character, in a picture, in a statue, a beautiful spot, that is where my eyes rest; I see only that, I remember only that, all the rest is well-nigh forgotten. What becomes of me when the whole work is beautiful!
christian men giving
If there were a reason for preferring the Christian religion to natural religion, it would be because the former offers us, on the nature of God and man, enlightenment that the latter lacks. Now, this is not at all the case; for Christianity, instead of clarifying, gives rise to an infinite multitude of obscurities and difficulties.
firsts steps first-steps
A thing is not proved because no one has ever questioned it... Skepticism is the first step toward truth.
girl fashion religious
There comes a moment during which almost every girl or boy falls into melancholy; they are tormented by a vague inquietude which rests on everything and finds nothing to calm it. They seek solitude; they weep; the silence to be found in cloister attracts them: the image of peace that seems to reign in religious houses seduces them. They mistake the first manifestations of a developing sexual nature for the voice of God calling them to Himself; and it is precisely when nature is inciting them that they embrace a fashion of life contrary to nature's wish.
motivation real would-be
The enjoyment of freedom which could be exercised without any motivation would be the real hallmark of a maniac.