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David Hume Quotes - Page 6

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

In this sullen apathy neither true wisdom nor true happiness can be found.

In this sullen apathy neither true wisdom nor true happiness can be found.

Empathy, Apathy, Sullen

David Hume (1870). “Essays, Literary, Moral, and Political”, p.88

The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds.

Weed, Genius, Soil

David Hume (2016). “Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)”, p.664, Delphi Classics

A man acquainted with history may, in some respect, be said to have lived from the beginning of the world, and to have been making continual additions to his stock of knowledge in every century.

Men, World, May

David Hume (2006). “Essays: Moral, Political and Literary”, p.561, Cosimo, Inc.

Of all the animals with which this globe is peopled, there is none towards whom nature seems, at first sight, to have exercised more cruelty than towards man, in the numberless wants and necessities with which she has loaded him, and in the slender means which she affords to the relieving these necessities.

Nature, Mean, Animal

A Treatise upon Human Nature bk. 3 (1739)

From the apparent usefulness of the social virtues, it has readily been inferred by sceptics, both ancient and modern, that all moral distinctions arise from education, and were, at first, invented, and afterwards encouraged ... in order to render men tractable, and subdue their natural ferocity and selfishness, which incapacitated them for society.

Men, Order, Selfishness

David Hume (2006). “An Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals”, p.48, Cosimo, Inc.

Among the arts of conversation no one pleases more than mutual deference or civility, which leads us to resign our own inclinations to those of our companions, and to curb and conceal that presumption and arrogance so natural to the human mind.

Art, Arrogance, Mind

David Hume (2016). “Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)”, p.651, Delphi Classics

From causes which appear similar, we expect similar effects. This is the sum total of all our experimental conclusions.

Causes, Conclusion, Effects

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding Section IV (p. 35)

The law always limits every power it gives.

Philosophical, Power, Law

David Hume (1758). “Essays and Treatises on several subjects, etc. New edition”, p.207

It is harder to avoid censure than to gain applause; for this may be done by one great or wise action in an age. But to escape censure a man must pass his whole life without saying or doing one ill or foolish thing

Wise, Men, Age

The simplest and most obvious cause which can there be assigned for any phenomena, is probably the true one.

Words Of Wisdom, Causes, Obvious

David Hume (2016). “Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)”, p.1189, Delphi Classics

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

Taste, Study, Painting

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

Enthusiasm, being the infirmity of bold and ambitious tempers, is naturally accompanied with a spirit of liberty; as superstition,on the contrary, renders men tame and abject, and fits them for slavery.

Men, Liberty, Ambitious

David Hume (1875). “Essays Moral, Political, and Literary”, p.149

There is an universal tendency among mankind to conceive all beings like themselves, and to transfer to every object, those qualities, with which they are familiarly acquainted, and of which they are intimately conscious. We find human faces in the moon, armies in the clouds; and by a natural propensity, if not corrected by experience and reflection, ascribe malice or good-will to every thing, that hurts or pleases us.

Hurt, Army, Moon

David Hume (1957). “The Natural History of Religion”, p.29, Stanford University Press

No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous than the fact which it endeavors to establish.

Religious, Reality, Miracle

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding "Of Miracles" (1748)

Any person seasoned with a just sense of the imperfections of natural reason, will fly to revealed truth with the greatest avidity.

Imperfection, Reason, Natural

David Hume (1826). “The Philosophical Works: Including All the Essays, and Exhibiting the More Important Alterations and Corrections in the Successive Ed. Publ. by the Author”, p.548

Heroism, or military glory, is much admired by the generality of mankind. They consider it as the most sublime kind of merit. Menof cool reflection are not so sanguine in their praises of it.

Military, Reflection, Sublime

David Hume (2016). “Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)”, p.521, Delphi Classics

In all matters of opinion and science ... the difference between men is ... oftener found to lie in generals than in particulars; and to be less in reality than in appearance. An explication of the terms commonly ends the controversy, and the disputants are surprised to find that they had been quarrelling, while at bottom they agreed in their judgement.

Lying, Science, Reality

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

The identity that we ascribe to things is only a fictitious one, established by the mind, not a peculiar nature belonging to what we’re talking about.

Talking, Mind, Identity

..all arguments concerning existence are founded on the relation of cause and effect; that our knowledge of that relation is derived entirely from experience; and all our experimental conclusions proceed upon the supposition that the future will be conformable to the past. .... Without the influence of custom, we should be entirely ignorant of every matter of fact beyond what is immediately present to the memory and senses.

Memories, Past, Words Of Wisdom

Nothing more powerfully excites any affection than to conceal some part of its object, by throwing it into a kind of shade, whichat the same time that it shows enough to prepossess us in favour of the object, leaves still some work for the imagination.

Passion, Imagination, Shade

David Hume, Tom L. Beauchamp (2007). “A Dissertation on the Passions: The Natural History of Religion : a Critical Edition”, p.112, Oxford University Press

Custom, then, is the great guide of human life. It is that principle alone, which renders our experience useful to us, and makes us expect, for the future, a similar train of events with those which have appeared in the past.

Past, Experience, Principles

David Hume, Eric Steinberg (1993). “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding ; [with] A Letter from a Gentleman to His Friend in Edinburgh ; [and] An Abstract of a Treatise of Human Nature”, p.29, Hackett Publishing

Any pride or haughtiness, is displeasing to us, merely because it shocks our own pride, and leads us by sympathy into comparison, which causes the disagreeable passion of humility.

Passion, Humility, Pride

David Hume (2016). “Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)”, p.522, Delphi Classics

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.

Life, Death, Reflection

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

Let us fix our attention out of ourselves as much as possible; let us chase our imagination to the heavens, or to the utmost limits of the universe; we never really advance a step beyond ourselves, nor can conceive any kind of existence, but those perceptions, which have appeared in that narrow compass.

Imagination, Heaven, Perception

1739 A Treatise of Human Nature, bk.1, pt.2, section 6.

The feelings of our heart, the agitation of our passions, the vehemence of our affections, dissipate all its conclusions, and reduce the profound philosopher to a mere plebeian

Passion, Heart, Profound

David Hume (1772). “An inquiry concerning human understanding. A dissertation on the passions. An. inquiry concerning the principles of morals. The natural history of religion”, p.5

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