What is a monster? A being whose survival is incompatible with the existing order.
DENIS DIDEROTWhat is a monster? A being whose survival is incompatible with the existing order.
DENIS DIDEROTAre we not madder than those first inhabitants of the plain of Sennar? We know that the distance separating the earth from the sky is infinite, and yet we do not stop building our tower.
DENIS DIDEROTThe enjoyment of freedom which could be exercised without any motivation would be the real hallmark of a maniac.
DENIS DIDEROTPassions destroy more prejudices than philosophy does.
DENIS DIDEROTIt is said that desire is a product of the will, but the converse is in fact true: will is a product of desire.
DENIS DIDEROTIgnorance is less remote from the truth than prejudice.
DENIS DIDEROTIf you disturb the colors of the rainbow, the rainbow is no longer beautiful.
DENIS DIDEROTIn order to shake a hypothesis, it is sometimes not necessary to do anything more than push it as far as it will go.
DENIS DIDEROTWhen 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.
DENIS DIDEROTYou can be sure that a painter reveals himself in his work as much as and more than a writer does in his.
DENIS DIDEROTTwo qualities essential for the artist: moralityand perspective.
DENIS DIDEROTA nation which thinks that it is belief in God and not good law which makes people honest does not seem to me very advanced.
DENIS DIDEROTIsn’t it better to have men being ungrateful than to miss a chance to do good?
DENIS DIDEROTOh! how near are genius and madness! Men imprison them and chain them, or raise statues to them.
DENIS DIDEROTScepticism is the first step toward truth.
DENIS DIDEROTAt 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.
DENIS DIDEROT