In all the events of life, we ought still to preserve our scepticism. If we believe that fire warms, or water refreshes, it is only because it costs us too much pains to think otherwise. David Hume More Quotes by David Hume More Quotes From David Hume A propensity to hope and joy is real riches; one to fear and sorrow real poverty. David Hume sorrow real joy In all ages of the world, priests have been enemies of liberty. David Hume liberty age enemy ... superstitions, which, being unable to defend themselves on fair ground, raise these intangling brambles to cover and protect their weakness. Chased from the open country, these robbers fly into the forest, and lie in wait to break in upon every unguarded avenue of the mind, and overwhelm it with religious fears and prejudices. ... The idea of God, as meaning an infinitely intelligent, wise and good Being, arises from reflecting on the operations of our own mind, and augmenting, without limit, those qualities of goodness and wisdom. David Hume religious wise country Habit may lead us to belief and expectation but not to the knowledge, and still less to the understanding, of lawful relations. David Hume understanding expectations may Moving from an objective statement of fact to a subjective statement of value does not work, because it leaves open questions that have not been answered. David Hume doe facts moving Your corn is ripe today, mine will be so tomorrow. 'Tis profitable for us both that I should labor with you today, and that you should aid me tomorrow. I have no kindness for you, and know you have as little for me. I will not, therefore, take any pains upon your account . . . Here then I leave you to labor alone; you treat me in the same manner. The seasons change, and both of us lose our harvests for want of mutual confidence and security. David Hume volunteer pain kindness It is an absurdity to believe that the Deity has human passions, and one of the lowest of human passions, a restless appetite for applause David Hume deities passion believe A wise man's kingdom is his own breast: or, if he ever looks farther, it will only be to the judgment of a select few, who are free from prejudices, and capable of examining his work. Nothing indeed can be a stronger presumption of falsehood than the approbation of the multitude; and Phocion, you know, always suspected himself of some blunder when he was attended with the applauses of the populace. David Hume stronger wise men No amount of observations of white swans can allow the inference that all swans are white, but the observation of a single black swan is sufficient to refute that conclusion. David Hume swans black white Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions. David Hume slave passion philosophy Heaven and hell suppose two distinct species of men, the good and the bad. But the greatest part of mankind float betwixt vice and virtue. David Hume men heaven two If we confine ourselves to a general and distant reflection on the ills of human life, that can have no effect to prepare us for them. If by close and intense meditation we render them present and intimate to us, that is the true secret for poisoning all our pleasures, and rendering us perpetually miserable. David Hume reflection life death Truth is disputable, not human taste. David Hume truth-is humans taste But, historians, and even common sense, may inform us, that, however specious these ideas of perfect equality may seem, they are really, at bottom, impracticable; and were they not so, would be extremely pernicious to human society. Render possessions ever so equal, men's different degrees of art, care, and industry will immediately break that equality. Or if you check these virtues, you reduce society to the most extreme indigence; and instead of preventing want and beggary in a few, render it unavoidable to the whole community. David Hume men ideas art Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty. David Hume quality mind beauty The most lively thought is still inferior to the dullest sensation. David Hume lively lazy stills No truth appears to me more evident than that beasts are endowed with thought and reason as well as men. David Hume beast reason men Beauty, whether moral or natural, is felt, more properly than perceived. David Hume philosophical moral beauty Custom is the great guide to human life. David Hume human-life guides humans It affords a violent prejudice against almost every science, that no prudent man, however sure of his principles, dares prophesy concerning any event, or foretell the remote consequences of things. David Hume events principles men
