Denis Diderot

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

“The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.”

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

“There is only one passion, the passion for happiness.”

“Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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.”