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.

Quote by Denis Diderot

Topics: Knowledge Quotes

Justice is the first virtue of those who command, and stops the complaints of those...

Justice is the first virtue of those who command, and stops the complaints of those...

Gratitude is a burden, and every burden is made to be shaken off

Gratitude is a burden, and every burden is made to be shaken off

Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of...

Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of...

If there is one realm in which it is essential to be sublime, it is...

If there is one realm in which it is essential to be sublime, it is...

Bad company is as instructive as licentiousness. One makes up for the loss of one's...

Bad company is as instructive as licentiousness. One makes up for the loss of one's...

We are all instruments endowed with feeling and memory. Our senses are so many strings...

We are all instruments endowed with feeling and memory. Our senses are so many strings...

The infant runs toward it with its eyes closed, the adult is stationary, the old...

The infant runs toward it with its eyes closed, the adult is stationary, the old...

Poetry must have something in it that is barbaric, vast and wild.

Poetry must have something in it that is barbaric, vast and wild.

The pit of a theatre is the one place where the tears of virtuous and...

The pit of a theatre is the one place where the tears of virtuous and...

Our observation of nature must be diligent, our reflection profound, and our experiments exact. We...

Our observation of nature must be diligent, our reflection profound, and our experiments exact. We...

All abstract sciences are nothing but the study of relations between signs.

All abstract sciences are nothing but the study of relations between signs.

The best mannered people make the most absurd lovers.

The best mannered people make the most absurd lovers.

Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that...

Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that...

The decisions of law courts should never be printed: in the long run, they form...

The decisions of law courts should never be printed: in the long run, they form...

In order to shake a hypothesis, it is sometimes not necessary to do anything more...

In order to shake a hypothesis, it is sometimes not necessary to do anything more...

There are things I can't force. I must adjust. There are times when the greatest...

There are things I can't force. I must adjust. There are times when the greatest...

Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in...

Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in...

If you want me to believe in God, you must make me touch him.

If you want me to believe in God, you must make me touch him.

My ideas are my whores.

My ideas are my whores.

It is said that desire is a product of the will, but the converse is...

It is said that desire is a product of the will, but the converse is...