The general interest of the masses might take the place of the insight of genius if it were allowed freedom of action. Denis Diderot More Quotes by Denis Diderot More Quotes From Denis Diderot But if you will recall the history of our civil troubles, you will see half the nation bathe itself, out of piety, in the blood of the other half, and violate the fundamental feelings of humanity in order to sustain the cause of God: as though it were necessary to cease to be a man in order to prove oneself religious! Denis Diderot religious men blood 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. Denis Diderot design use religion The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers. Denis Diderot atheist spiritual science What a hell of an economic system! Some are replete with everything while others, whose stomachs are no less demanding, whose hunger is just as recurrent, have nothing to bite on. The worst of it is the constrained posture need puts you in. The needy man does not walk like the rest; he skips, slithers, twists, crawls. Denis Diderot twists doe men Instinct guides the animal better than the man. In the animal it is pure, in man it is led astray by his reason and intelligence. Denis Diderot reason animal men The man who first pronounced the barbarous word God ought to have been immediately destroyed. Denis Diderot religious god men There is only one virtue, justice; only one duty, to be happy; only one corollary, not to overvalue life and not to fear death. Denis Diderot atheism virtue justice I am wholly yours - you are everything to me; we will sustain each other in all the ills of life it may please fate to inflict upon us; you will soothe my troubles; I will comfort you in yours. Denis Diderot fate comfort may Only the bad man is alone. Denis Diderot bad-man solitude men My ideas are my whores. Denis Diderot ideas There is only one passion, the passion for happiness. Denis Diderot happy happiness inspirational There are things I can't force. I must adjust. There are times when the greatest change needed is a change of my viewpoint. Denis Diderot viewpoints perspective acceptance 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. Denis Diderot creativity reflection mean Wandering in a vast forest at night, I have only a faint light to guide me. A stranger appears and says to me: 'My friend, you should blow out your candle in order to find your way more clearly.' This stranger is a theologian. Denis Diderot light blow night The Christian religion teaches us to imitate a God that is cruel, insidious, jealous, and implacable in his wrath. Denis Diderot religious christian god If exclusive privileges were not granted, and if the financial system would not tend to concentrate wealth, there would be few great fortunes and no quick wealth. When the means of growing rich is divided between a greater number of citizens, wealth will also be more evenly distributed; extreme poverty and extreme wealth would be also rare. Denis Diderot would-be numbers mean What is this world? A complex whole, subject to endless revolutions. All these revolutions show a continual tendency to destruction; a swift succession of beings who follow one another, press forward, and vanish; a fleeting symmetry; the order of a moment. I reproached you just now with estimating the perfection of things by your own capacity; and I might accuse you here of measuring its duration by the length of your own days. Denis Diderot perfection order world 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. Denis Diderot genius age men To prove the Gospels by a miracle is to prove an absurdity by something contrary to nature. Denis Diderot absurdity prove miracle First of all move me, surprise me, rend my heart; make me tremble, weep, shudder; outrage me; delight my eyes afterwards if you can. Denis Diderot eye heart moving
