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Disturbances in society are never more fearful than when those who are stirring up the trouble can use the pretext of religion to mask their true designs.

— Denis Diderot Observations on the Drawing Up of Laws (1774)

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Religion

More quotes by Denis Diderot

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)

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All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

Albert Einstein Moral Decay (1937)

Science and religion are two human enterprises sharing many features.

Freeman Dyson Infinite in All Directions (1988)

The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.

John Adams A Defence of the Constitutions of Government (1787)

The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.

Thomas Babington Macaulay History of England (1849)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Denis Diderot (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.