Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things. – Denis Diderot
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. – Denis Diderot
Pithy sentences are like sharp nails which force truth upon our memory. – Denis Diderot
The 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
There is one timeless way of building. It is a thousand years old, and the same today as it has ever been. The great traditional buildings of the past, the villages and tents and temples in which man feels at home, have always been made by people who were very close to the center of this way. – Christopher Alexander