When it comes to the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, Denis Diderot is a major figure. He was a French philosopher, art critic and writer who served as the chief editor of the Encyclopédie from 1745 to 1772, per Britannica; this was “one of the principal works” of this era, hence his influence. As the University of Kent reported, he and Voltaire were the two people who “shaped the French Enlightenment” the most in the 18th century. Through the Encyclopédie, Diderot and the other writers and editors “challenged traditional authority and emphasized reason and empirical knowledge,” according to EBSCO. And our quote of the day is a great example of Diderot’s rhetoric and beliefs, specifically about how passion can add greatness to your life, not tarnish it.
As the World History Encyclopedia reported, Diderot was born in 1713, in Langres, France, and his father was a well-respected master cutler, meaning he made cutlery or silverware. Diderot went on to study at a college run by Jesuits, then in Paris, but his father disowned him because he refused to take a job within the Church or in law, and then because he married below his station.
Diderot made a living as a tutor and translator, but had financial problems throughout his life, per the University of Kent. In fact, the Russian Empress Catherine II (Catherine the Great) was his saving grace when, in 1766, she bought his library to give him money, and he was even allowed to keep it until he died.
He wrote many works, from treatises to books to art critiques and, of course, his ideas that influenced the Enlightenment. That last piece is what he’s most known for, and you can see a bit of that anti-autocracy, anti-institutionalized religion sentiment in today’s quote.
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Quote of the Day by Denis Diderot
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“Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.”
This quote appears in Diderot’s first original work from 1746, Pensées Philosophiques, otherwise known as Philosophic/Philosophical Thoughts in the English translation. As the title states, it’s a slew of different philosophical ideas and thoughts that Diderot has, including “new and explosive anti-Christian ideas” that were packaged in prose, per Britannica. And while he doesn’t completely reject institutionalized religion, as EBSCO reported, he did write that people’s faith should be put to the test with reasoning and logic, and that things like passion are actually necessary to human nature and life.
He originally wrote and sold this work to make money for his mistress at the time, and it was published anonymously. This led some people to believe that the likes of Voltaire or Étienne Bonnot de Condillac wrote it. It was subsequently “condemned” by the Parlement of Paris in July of 1746 because of its radical ideas.
This line is at the beginning of the first chapter, which he starts off by noting that he understands a lot of people aren’t going to agree with him. He then makes his first point: people denounce “the passions,” blaming them for pain and suffering that “man endures.” However, he writes that passion is “the source of all his pleasures,” and it’s not something you can pray away or just remove from your body or mind.
He then has today’s quote. In an earlier 1916 translation of the quote by Margaret Jourdain, it reads: “Yet it is passions, alone and strong, that can elevate the soul to great things.”
Diderot follows up that sentiment, saying that without passions “there is no sublime, either in morality or in achievement; the fine arts return to puerility, and virtue becomes a pettifogging thing.”
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Deeper Meaning of Denis Diderot’s Quote—Passion Can Elevate the Soul
As mentioned above, a main thesis that ran through Diderot’s Philosophic Thoughts was that you have to melt reason and emotion together to find harmony. And when he’s talking about “passions” in today’s quote, he’s referring to anything that involves deep emotions.
Essentially, Diderot is saying that intense feelings of love, desire, elation, anger and more, are actually what make us human. And without them, we make childish art and our virtues come from a petty place. Without passion, ambition and deep devotion to things outside of the Church, we cannot achieve great things.
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More Quotes from Denis Diderot
“We swallow whole the lie which flatters us and sip drop by drop a truth set down before us.” “What has not been examined impartially has not been well examined. Skepticism is therefore the first step toward truth.” “Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in order always means getting other people under your control.” “Strong thoughts are iron nails driven in the mind, that nothing can draw out.” “If you want me to believe in God, you must make me touch him.”Up Next:
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