Hume, David

"The most perfect religion is that which purges the mind of superstition."

"Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them."

"A man may be virtuous in a court, but he cannot be great."

"The errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous."

"There is not to be found, in all history, any miracles attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestionable good sense."

"Laws are formed by human convention, not by nature."

"The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water molds itself to the pitcher."

"Prejudice is born from ignorance, but wisdom comes from understanding."

"A man can not live by bread alone, but also by education and wisdom."

"The world in every era looks like a battlefield strewn with the debris of belief systems."

"No truth is more certain than this, that all the sciences have a relation, greater or less, to human nature."

"The most violent passions in all religions have been those which arise from superstition and false reasoning."

"Strength alone is not enough to carry us through; we must also have wisdom and virtue."

"The pleasures and pains of imagination are very real, though they have little foundation in nature."

"War is the science of destroying our own citizens for the benefit of others."

"There is a natural progression from ignorance to superstition to philosophy."

"The human being is not rational by nature, but rather becomes rational through custom and practice."

"Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic belief held without question."

"The greatest achievements come not from strength alone, but from perseverance."

"Music is the only universal language understood by all mankind."

"Our affections are more determined by hope and fear than by any fixed belief."

"The mind is a kind of theater where perceptions make their appearance in continual flux and movement."

"A man without friends is like a hand without fingers."

"The understanding exerts itself after two different ways."

"Ambition is a natural instinct, but it must be tempered by reason and virtue."

"Nature has made us aware of our own existence, but not of our essence."

"The best cure for any evil is to have the courage to face it directly."

"Solitude is the nursery of genius; but the company of great men is the food of it."

"True knowledge consists in knowing things, not words."

"The passions of men, though variable, are generally of the same kind."