“Gaiety — a quality of ordinary men. Genius always presupposes some disorder in the machine.”

“Diseases"
Elements of Physiology (1875)

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Denis Diderot 106
French Enlightenment philosopher and encyclopædist 1713–1784

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“Evil always turns up in this world through some genius or other.”

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“Innocence in genius, and candor in power, are both noble qualities.”

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“As far as my experience goes, men of genius are fairly gifted with the social qualities; and in this age, there appears to be a fellow-feeling among them, which had not heretofore been developed.”

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Context: As far as my experience goes, men of genius are fairly gifted with the social qualities; and in this age, there appears to be a fellow-feeling among them, which had not heretofore been developed. As men, they ask nothing better than to be on equal terms with their fellow-men; and as authors, they have thrown aside their proverbial jealousy, and acknowledge a generous brotherhood.

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