Denis Diderot Quotes & Sayings (Page 3)

“The God of the Christians is a father who makes much of his apples, and very little of his children.”

“Justice is the first virtue of those who command, and stops the complaints of those who obey.”

“To attempt the destruction of our passions is the height of folly. What a noble aim is that of the zealot who tortures himself like a madman in order to desire nothing, love nothing, feel nothing, and who, if he succeeded, would end up a complete monster!”

“The best mannered people make the most absurd lovers.”

“Although a man may wear fine clothing, if he lives peacefully; and is good, self-possessed, has faith and is pure; and if he does not hurt any living being, he is a holy man.”

“All abstract sciences are nothing but the study of relations between signs.”

“Every man has his dignity. I'm willing to forget mine, but at my own discretion and not when someone else tells me to.”

“When science, art, literature, and philosophy are simply the manifestation of personality they are on a level where glorious and dazzling achievements are possible, which can make a man's name live for thousands of years.”

“Our observation of nature must be diligent, our reflection profound, and our experiments exact. We rarely see these three means combined; and for this reason, creative geniuses are not common.”

“Morals are in all countries the result of legislation and government; they are not African or Asian or European: they are good or bad.”