Wandering in a vast forest at night, I have only a faint light to guide me. A stranger appears and says to me: 'My friend, you should blow out your candle in order to find your way more clearly.' This stranger is a theologian.
Denis DiderotOh! how near are genius and madness! Men imprison them and chain them, or raise statues to them.
Denis DiderotThere is no true sovereign except the nation; there can be no true legislator except the people.
Denis DiderotWhich is the greater merit, to enlighten the human race, which remains forever, or to save one's fatherland, which is perishable?
Denis DiderotThe 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.
Denis Diderot