Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderotʁo]; 5 October 1713 – 31 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent figure during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the Encyclopédie along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert...
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth5 October 1713
children men entertainment
In general, children, like men, and men, like children, prefer entertainment to education.
god religious men
The man who first pronounced the barbarous word God ought to have been immediately destroyed.
children criminals
All children are essentially criminal.
silence important matter
I like better for one to say some foolish thing upon important matters than to be silent. That becomes the subject of discussion and dispute, and the truth is discovered.
inspirational happiness romantic
Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.
running art giving
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.
bitter drink drop lie swallow truth women
Women swallow at one mouthful the lie that flatters, and drink drop by drop the truth that is bitter
acquiring available collects creative geniuses knowledge means nature principal rarely reflection result three
There are three principal means of acquiring knowledge available to us: observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation collects facts; reflection combines them; experimentation verifies the result of that combination. 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.
generally sketch spirited
A sketch is generally more spirited than a picture,
although faith fine holy hurt lives living man wear
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.
Une danse est un poe' me. A dance is a poem.
ideas
My ideas are my whores.
men play voice
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.