Quote#Wisdom
Does a man of sense run after every silly tale of hobgoblins or…
Quote byDavid Hume · 1711–1776
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Letters.
English (original)
Does a man of sense run after every silly tale of hobgoblins or fairies, and canvass particularly the evidence? I never knew anyone, that examined and deliberated about nonsense who did not believe it before the end of his enquiries.
— David Hume
More from David Hume
A wise man's kingdom is his own breast: or, if he ever looks farther, it will only be to the judgment of a select few, who are free from prejudices, and capable of examining his work.
As to the Approbation or Esteem of those Blockheads who call themselves the Public, & whom a Bookseller, a Lord, a Priest, or a Party can guide, I do most heartily despise it.
The sense of justice and injustice is not deriv'd from nature, but arises artificially... from education, and human conventions.
The same good sense, that directs men in the ordinary occurrences of life, is not hearkened to in religious matters, which are supposed to be placed altogether above the cognizance of human reason.
The life of man is of no greater importance to the universe than that of an oyster.
Heaven and Hell suppose two distinct species of men, the good and the bad; but the greatest part of mankind float betwixt vice and virtue.