Denis Diderot

We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.

There is only one passion, the passion for happiness.

The best doctor is the one you run to and can't find.

Gratitude is a burden, and every burden is made to be shaken off.

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.

The blood of Jesus Christ can cover a multitude of sins, it seems to me.

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

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.

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!

In order to shake a hypothesis, it is sometimes not necessary to do anything more than push it as far as it will go.

It is said that desire is a product of the will, but the converse is in fact true: will is a product of desire.

The first step towards philosophy is incredulity.

Bad company is as instructive as licentiousness. One makes up for the loss of one's innocence with the loss of one's prejudices.

Pithy sentences are like sharp nails which force truth upon our memory.

If you want me to believe in God, you must make me touch him.

The pit of a theatre is the one place where the tears of virtuous and wicked men alike are mingled.

Skepticism is the first step on the road to philosophy.

When superstition is allowed to perform the task of old age in dulling the human temperament, we can say goodbye to all excellence in poetry, in painting, and in music.

Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.

Power acquired by violence is only a usurpation, and lasts only as long as the force of him who commands prevails over that of those who obey.

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.

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

It is very important not to mistake hemlock for parsley, but to believe or not believe in God is not important at all.

Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in order always means getting other people under your control.

The infant runs toward it with its eyes closed, the adult is stationary, the old man approaches it with his back turned.

Genius is present in every age, but the men carrying it within them remain benumbed unless extraordinary events occur to heat up and melt the mass so that it flows forth.

His hands would plait the priest's guts, if he had no rope, to strangle kings.

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.

Poetry must have something in it that is barbaric, vast and wild.

There are three principal means of acquiring knowledge... observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation collects facts; reflection combines them; experimentation verifies the result of that combination.

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.

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.

Disturbances in society are never more fearful than when those who are stirring up the trouble can use the pretext of religion to mask their true designs.

There are things I can't force. I must adjust. There are times when the greatest change needed is a change of my viewpoint.

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

The decisions of law courts should never be printed: in the long run, they form a counter authority to the law.

One declaims endlessly against the passions; one imputes all of man's suffering to them. One forgets that they are also the source of all his pleasures.