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David Hume Quotes

All Quotes Affection Age Ambition Appearance Arrogance Art Atheism Beauty Belief Character Common Sense Constitution Corruption Country Curiosity Death Desire Determination Doubt Empathy Enthusiasm Ethics Evil Experience Feelings Friendship Genius Giving God Happiness Heart History Honesty Human Nature Humility Ignorance Imagination Imperfection Judgement Judgment Justice Knowledge Labor Learning Liberty Life Lying Mankind Morality Nature Office Pain Painting Passion Past Perception Philosophy Pleasure Praise Purpose Quality Reality Reflection Religion Revenge Running Science Sorrow Soul Spring Study Truth Understanding Universe Virtue War Weakness

A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.

A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.

Wise, Wisdom, Knowledge

1748 An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, section 10, pt.1.

There is no such thing as freedom of choice unless there is freedom to refuse.

Choices, Freedom Of Choice, Refuse

All knowledge degenerates into probability.

Knowledge, Science, Degenerates

David Hume (2015). “A Treatise of Human Nature: Top Philosophy Collections”, p.144, 谷月社

When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken.

Men, Stupidity, Arrogance

If God is omnipotent, omniscient and wholly good, whence evil? If God wills to prevent evil but cannot, then He is not omnipotent. If He can prevent evil but does not, then he is not good. In either case he is not God.

Evil, Religion, Doe

Nothing is more surprising than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few.

Philosophy, Philosophical, Government

Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them.

Positive, Beauty, Philosophical

To hate, to love, to think, to feel, to see; all this is nothing but to perceive.

Hate, Philosophical, Thinking

David Hume (2015). “A Treatise of Human Nature: Top Philosophy Collections”, p.57, 谷月社

It is seldom, that liberty of any kind is lost all at once. Slavery has so frightful an aspect to men accustomed to freedom, that it must steal upon them by degrees, and must disguise itself in a thousand shapes, in order to be received.

Men, Order, Liberty

David Hume, Stuart D. Warner, Donald W. Livingston (1994). “Hume: Political Writings”, p.253, Hackett Publishing

Anything that is conceivable is possible.

Destiny

The life of man is of no greater importance to the universe than that of an oyster.

Life, Science, Men

David Hume, Richard H. Popkin (1998). “Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (Second Edition)”, p.100, Hackett Publishing

Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.

Philosophy, Philosophical, Science

A Treatise upon Human Nature bk. 1 (1739)

History is the discovering of the principles of human nature.

History, Principles, Human Nature

Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty.

Beauty, Mind, Quality

'Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary' (ed. T. H. Green and T. H. Grose, 1875) 'Of the Standard of Taste' (1757)

I do not have enough faith to believe there is no god.

Believe, Enough, There Is No God

Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.

Philosophy, Passion, Office

A Treatise upon Human Nature bk. 2 (1739)

Human happiness seems to consist in three ingredients: action, pleasure and indolence.

Happiness, Feelings, Three

David Hume (1825). “Essays and treatises on several subjects: essays, moral, political and literary”, p.266

Men often act knowingly against their interest.

Philosophical, Men, Interest

David Hume, Tom L. Beauchamp (2007). “A Dissertation on the Passions: The Natural History of Religion : a Critical Edition”, p.106, Oxford University Press

The difference between a man who is led by opinion or emotion and one who is led by reason. The former, whether he will or not, performs things of which he is entirely ignorant; the latter is subordinate to no one, and only does those things which he knows to be of primary importance in his life, and which on that account he desires the most; and therefore I call the former a slave, but the latter free.

Men, Differences, Words Of Wisdom

Nothing appears more surprising to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers.

Philosophical, Passion, Eye

David Hume (2010). “Moral and Political Philosophy”, p.406, Simon and Schuster

Grief and disappointment give rise to anger, anger to envy, envy to malice, and malice to grief again, till the whole circle be completed.

Disappointment, Grief, Circles

David Hume (1826). “The philosophical works of David Hume”, p.13

A little philosophy makes a man an Atheist: a great deal converts him to religion

Atheist, Philosophy, Men

David Hume, John Charles Addison Gaskin (1998). “Dialogues and Natural History of Religion”, p.41, Oxford University Press, USA

No amount of observations of white swans can allow the inference that all swans are white, but the observation of a single black swan is sufficient to refute that conclusion.

Swans, White, Black

When I hear that a man is religious, I conclude he is a rascal!

Religious, Men, Rascals

Reading and sauntering and lounging and dosing, which I call thinking, is my supreme Happiness.

Reading, Journey, Thinking

David Hume (1888). “Letters of David Hume to William Strahan”

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