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Denis Diderot Biography

Denis Diderot (French: [dəni did(ə)ʁo]; 5 October 1713 – 31 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the Encyclopédie along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during the Enlightenment.

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Denis Diderot Quotes

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.

Allowed, Birthday, Farewell, Goodbye, Old, Temperament

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.

Knowledge, Mean, Observation, Principal, Reflection, Verifies

The world is the house of the strong.

Gambling, House, Strong, World

At an early age I sucked up the milk of Homer, Virgil, Horace, Terence, Anacreon, Plato and Euripides, diluted with that of Moses and the prophets.

Age, Anacreon, Atheism, Early, Milk, Plato

We are a free people; and now you have planted in our country the title deeds of our future slavery. You are neither god nor demon; who are you, then, to make slaves? Orou! You understand the language of these men, tell us all, as you have told me, what they have written on this sheet of metal: This country is ours. This country yours? And why? Because you have walked thereon? If a Tahitian landed one day on your shores, and scratched on one of your rocks or on the bark of your trees: This country belongs to the people of Tahiti - what would you think?

Country, Future, Make, Men, People, Thinking

If there are one hundred thousand damned souls for one saved soul, the devil has always the advantage without having given up his son to death.

Devil, Given, Having, Saved, Son, Soul

There is less harm to be suffered in being mad among madmen than in being sane all by oneself.

Harm, Mad, Madmen, Psychological, Sane

I discuss with myself questions of politics, love, taste, or philosophy. I let my mind rove wantonly, give it free rein to followany idea, wise or mad that may present itself. . . . My ideas are my harlots.

Funny, Give, Honesty, Let, Questions, Wise

The philosopher forms his principles on an infinity of particular observations. . . He does not confuse truth with plausibility. . . he takes for truth what is true, for false what is false, for doubtful what is doubtful, and probable what is probable. . . The philosophical spirit is thus a spirit of observation and accuracy.

Objectivity, Philosophical, Principles, Truth

When shall we see poets born? After a time of disasters and great misfortunes, when harrowed nations begin to breathe again. And then, shaken by the terror of such spectacles, imaginations will paint things entirely strange to those who have not witnessed them.

Begin, Breathe, Disasters, Imagination, Strange, Witnessed

It is not the man who is beside himself, but he who is cool and collected,--who is master of his countenance, of his voice, of his actions, of his gestures, of every part of his play,--who can work upon others at his pleasure.

Countenance, Men, Play, Pleasure, Voice, Work

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

Countries, Country, Europe, Government, Morals

All things must be examined, debated, investigated without exception and without regard for anyone's feelings. . . We must run roughshod over all these ancient puerilities, overturn the barriers that reason never erected, give back to the arts and sciences the liberty that is so precious to them.

Ancient, Art, Examined, Giving, Overturn, Running

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.

Animal, Astray, Guides, Instinct, Men, Reason

There is not a Musselman[Muslim] alive who would not imagine that he was performing an action pleasing to God and his Holy Prophet by exterminating every Christian on earth, while the Christians are scarcely more tolerant on their side.

Christian, God, Holy Prophet, Pleasing, Prophet, Religion

There's a bit of testicle at the bottom of our most sublime feelings and our purest tenderness.

Bottom, Feelings, Sublime, Testicle, Testicles

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

Jesus, Blood, Literature, Multitude, Sins

You can be sure that a painter reveals himself in his work as much as and more than a writer does in his.

Doe, Painter, Reveals, Work, Writer

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

Barbaric, Poetry, Poetry Is, Vast

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.

Crawls, Doe, Men, Recurrent, Stomachs, Twists

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