Denis Diderot

إيه لو كنتُ أُجيد الكلام مثلما أجيد التفكير! لكنه كان مكتوباً فوق أن تكون الأشياء في رأسي ، وأن لا تأتي الكلمات.

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

Manastirile sint ele oare atit de trebuincioase pentru temeliile unui stat? A facut Isus Cristos calugari si calugarite? [...] Ce nevoie are mirele sfint de atitea fecioare nebune? [...] e oare voia lui Dumnezeu sa vada traind in sihastrie omul pe care l-a menit sa traiasca laolalta cu semenii sai? Dumnezeu, care l-a facut atit de nestatornic, atit de usuratic, cum poate ingadui indrazneala legamintelor calugariei? [...] Si toate slujbele acestea lugubre, care se tin la luarea valului sau la marturie, cind un barbat sau o femeie sint daruiti vietii monahale si nenorocirii, curma oare functiunile animalice ale omului? Nu se trezesc ele, dimpotriva, in tacere, in silnicie si in trindavie, cu o putere necunoscuta celor ce traiesc in afara manastirilor?

El pueblo, eterno esclavo de los tiranos que lo oprimen, de los bribones que lo engañan y de los bufones que lo divierten.

Whether God exists or does not exist, He has come to rank among the most sublime and useless truths.

Omul nu va fi liber până când ultimul rege va fi spânzurat cu intestinele ultimului preot.

Every man has his dignity. I'm willing to forget mine, but at my own discretion and not when someone else tells me to.

How had they met? By chance, like everybody else. What were there names? What's it to you? Where were they coming from? From the nearest place. Where were they going? Does anyone really know where they're going?

From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step.

Au fost lăudaţi mult mai mult oamenii ocupaţi a ne face să credem că suntem fericiţi, decât oamenii ocupaţi a ne face să fim fericiţi cu adevărat. Ce ciudăţenie în judecăţile noastre! Pretindem ca fiecare să facă ceva folositor, dar îi dispreţuim pe oamenii folositori.

We are far more liable to catch the vices than the virtues of our associates.

As long as the centuries continue to unfold, the number of books will grow continually, and one can predict that a time will come when it will be almost as difficult to learn anything from books as from the direct study of the whole universe. It will be almost as convenient to search for some bit of truth concealed in nature as it will be to find it hidden away in an immense multitude of bound volumes.

Nada hay tan difícil de perdonar como el mérito.

Master, master, you obviously haven’t thought about this at all. We only ever feel sorry for ourselves, believe me.

You spit on a petty thief, but you can't withhold a sort of respect from a great criminal. His courage bowls you over.
His brutality makes you shudder. What you value in everything is consistency of character.