94 quotes
It is said that desire is a product of the will, but the converse is in fact true: will is a product of desire.
Elements of Physiology (1875)
In order to shake a hypothesis, it is sometimes not necessary to do anything more than push it as far as it will go.
On the Interpretation of Nature (1753)
There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it.
Dictionary of Foreign Quotations (1980)
Pithy sentences are like sharp nails which force truth upon our memory.
A Dictionary of Thoughts : Being a Cyclopedia of Laconic Quotations (1908)
Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in order always means getting other people under your control.
Supplement to Bougainville's Voyage (1796)
From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step.
Essai sur le Mérite de la Vertu (1745)
What is this world? A complex whole, subject to endless revolutions.
How old the world is! I walk between two eternities...
Salon of 1767 (1798)
The philosopher forms his principles from an infinity of particular observations.
L'Encyclopédie (1751)
The arbitrary rule of a just and enlightened prince is always bad.
Time, matter, space — all, it may be, are no more than a point.
His hands would plait the priest's guts, if he had no rope, to strangle kings.
It has been said that love robs those who have it of their wit, and gives it to those who have none.
Evil always turns up in this world through some genius or other.
Dictionary of Foreign Quotations (1980)
One may demand of me that I should seek truth, but not that I should find it.
Pensées Philosophiques (1746)
Justice is the first virtue of those who command, and stops the complaints of those who obey.
Do you see this egg? With this you can topple every theological theory, every church or temple in the world.
D’Alembert’s Dream (1769)
To prove the Gospels by a miracle is to prove an absurdity by something contrary to nature.
Pensées Philosophiques (1746)
Happiest are the people who give most happiness to others.
The first step towards philosophy is incredulity.
Last Conversation. Reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922)