David Hume Quotes - Page 5

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• Self-denial is a monkish virtue.

  David Hume

  Self, Denial, Virtue

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• What a peculiar privilege has this little agitation of the brain which we call 'thought'.

  David Hume

  Philosophical, Brain, Agitation

  David Hume (1854). “The Philosophical Works”, p.438

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• Great pleasures are much less frequent than great pains.

  David Hume

  Pain, Pleasure

  David Hume (1825). “Essays and treatises on several subjects: essays, moral, political and literary”, p.3

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• Mankind are so much the same, in all times and places, that history informs us of nothing new or strange in this particular. Its chief use is only to discover the constant and universal principles of human nature.

  David Hume

  History, Principles, Use

  David Hume (1788). “An inquiry concerning human understanding. A dissertation on the passions. An inquiry concerning the principles of morals. The natural history of religion”, p.90

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• If we confine ourselves to a general and distant reflection on the ills of human life, that can have no effect to prepare us for them. If by close and intense meditation we render them present and intimate to us, that is the true secret for poisoning all our pleasures, and rendering us perpetually miserable.

  David Hume

  Life, Death, Reflection

  David Hume (2016). “Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)”, p.683, Delphi Classics

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• Weakness, fear, melancholy, together with ignorance, are the true sources of superstition. Hope, pride, presumption, a warm indignation, together with ignorance, are the true sources of enthusiasm.

  David Hume

  Ignorance, Pride, Together

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• All this creative power of the mind amounts to no more than the faculty of compounding, transposing, augmenting, or diminishing the materials afforded us the by senses and experience.

  David Hume

  Creativity, Creative, Mind

  David Hume (2012). “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding”, p.10, Courier Corporation

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• Human Nature is the only science of man; and yet has been hitherto the most neglected.

  David Hume

  Philosophical, Men, Human Nature

  David Hume (2015). “A Treatise of Human Nature: Top Philosophy Collections”, p.209, 谷月社

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• How can we satisfy ourselves without going on in infinitum? And, after all, what satisfaction is there in that infinite progression? Let us remember the story of the Indian philosopher and his elephant. It was never more applicable than to the present subject. If the material world rests upon a similar ideal world, this ideal world must rest upon some other; and so on, without end. It were better, therefore, never to look beyond the present material world.

  David Hume

  Elephants, Looks, Stories

  David Hume (2013). “Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion”, p.31, Courier Corporation

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• In a vain man, the smallest spark may kindle into the greatest flame, because the materials are always prepared for it.

  David Hume

  Men, Vanity, Flames

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• The imagination of man is naturally sublime, delighted with whatever is remote and extraordinary, and running, without control, into the most distant parts of space and time in order to avoid the objects, which custom has rendered too familiar to it.

  David Hume

  Running, Men, Order

  David Hume (1793). “Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects”, p.180

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• The great end of all human industry is the attainment of happiness

  David Hume

  Ends, Attainment, Humans

  David Hume (1826). “The philosophical works of David Hume”, p.167

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• Nothing is so improving to the temper as the study of the beauties either of poetry, eloquence, music, or painting.

  David Hume

  Taste, Study, Painting

  David Hume (2016). “Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)”, p.579, Delphi Classics

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• No advantages in this world are pure and unmixed.

  David Hume

  Philosophical, World, Advantage

  David Hume (1758). “Essays and Treatises on several subjects, etc. New edition”, p.81

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• The most perfect philosophy of the natural kind only staves off our ignorance a little longer: as perhaps the most perfect philosophy of the moral or metaphysical kind serves only to discover larger portions of it. Thus the observation of human blindness and weakness is the result of all philosophy, and meets us at every turn, in spite of our endeavours to elude or avoid it.

  David Hume

  Philosophy, Ignorance, Perfect

  David Hume (1793). “Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects”, p.31

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• The fact that different cultures have different practices no more refutes [moral] objectivism than the fact that water flows in different directions in different places refutes the law of gravity

  David Hume

  Law, Practice, Water

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• A purpose, an intention, a design, strikes everywhere even the careless, the most stupid thinker.

  David Hume

  Stupid, Philosophical, Design

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• .. the voice of nature and experience seems plainly to oppose the selfish theory.

  David Hume

  Selfish, Voice, Ethics

  David Hume (1768). “An enquiry concerning human understanding. A dissertation on the passions. An enquiry concerning the principles of morals. The natural history of religion”, p.296

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• No human testimony can have such force as to prove a miracle, and make it a just foundation for any such system of religion

  David Hume

  Miracle, Foundation, Force

  David Hume, Richard H. Popkin (1998). “Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (Second Edition)”, p.122, Hackett Publishing

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• Nothing endears so much a friend as sorrow for his death. The pleasure of his company has not so powerful an influence.

  David Hume

  Powerful, Sorrow, Influence

  David Hume (1875). “Essays Moral, Political, and Literary”, p.263

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• This avidity alone, of acquiring goods and possessions for ourselves and our nearest friends, is insatiable, perpetual, universal, and directly destructive of society.

  David Hume

  Possession, Goods, Insatiable

  David Hume, Geoffrey Sayre-McCord “Moral Philosophy”, Hackett Publishing

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• To philosopher and historian the madness and imbecile wickedness of mankind ought to appear ordinary events.

  David Hume

  Stupidity, Events, Ordinary

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• I cannot but bless the memory of Julius Caesar, for the great esteem he expressed for fat men and his aversion to lean ones.

  David Hume

  Memories, Men, Aversion

  John Hill Burton, David Hume (1983). “Life and Correspondence of David Hume”, Facsimiles-Garl

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• The first ideas of religion arose, not from contemplation of the works of nature, but from a concern with regard to the events of life.

  David Hume

  Ideas, Events, Firsts

  David Hume (2016). “The Natural History of Religion: Revision of Great Book”, p.7, VM eBooks

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• In ancient times, bodily strength and dexterity, being of greater use and importance in war, was also much more esteemed and valued, than at present. ... In short, the different ranks of men are, in a great measure, regulated by riches.

  David Hume

  War, Men, Political

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