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Denis Diderot Quotes

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"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."

"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."

"Evil always turns up in this world through some genius or other."

"From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step."

"Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest."
Government

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

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

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

"You have to make it happen."

"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. But above this level, far above,"

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

"There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it."

"The possibility of divorce renders both marriage partners stricter in their observance of the duties they owe to each other. Divorces help to improve morals and to increase the population."

"Distance is a great promoter of admiration!"

"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 arbitrary rule of a just and enlightened prince is always bad. His virtues are the most dangerous and the surest form of seduction: they lull a people imperceptibly into the habit of loving, respecting, and serving his successor, whoever that successor may be, no matter how wicked or stupid."

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

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

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

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

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