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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

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David Hume
Age: 65 †
Born: 1711
Born: April 26
Died: 1776
Died: August 25
Economist
Essayist
Historian
Librarian
Philosopher
Writer
Edinburgh
Scotland
David Home
Hume
Never
Knew
Examined
Men
Anyone
Tale
Sense
Nonsense
Running
Fairy
Ends
Tales
Doe
Silly
Enquiries
Every
Particularly
Enquiry
Believe
Evidence
Fairies

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Nothing is so improving to the temper as the study of the beauties either of poetry, eloquence, music, or painting.
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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.
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History is the discovering of the principles of human nature.
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Truth springs from argument amongst friends.
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Such is the nature of novelty that where anything pleases it becomes doubly agreeable if new but if it displeases, it is doubly displeasing on that very account.
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The great subverter of Pyrrhonism or the excessive principles of scepticism is action, and employment, and the occupations of common life.
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It is with books as with women, where a certain plainness of manner and of dress is more engaging than that glare of paint and airs and apparel which may dazzle the eye, but reaches not the affections.
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From causes which appear similar, we expect similar effects. This is the sum total of all our experimental conclusions.
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Human happiness seems to consist in three ingredients action, pleasure and indolence. And though these ingredients ought to be mixed in different proportions, according to the disposition of the person, yet no one ingredient can be entirely wanting without destroying in some measure the relish of the whole composition.
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Mohammed praises [instances of] tretchery, inhumanity, cruelty, revenge, and bigotry that are utterly incompatible with civilized society.
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All power, even the most despotic, rests ultimately on opinion.
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The consequence of a very free commerce between the sexes, and of their living much together, will often terminate in intrigues and gallantry.
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Eloquence, when in its highest pitch, leaves little room for reason or reflection.
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The gazing populace receive greedily, without examination, whatever soothes superstition and promotes wonder.
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Everything in the world is purchased by labor.
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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
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That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will rise.
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Habit may lead us to belief and expectation but not to the knowledge, and still less to the understanding, of lawful relations.
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The simplest and most obvious cause which can there be assigned for any phenomena, is probably the true one.
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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.
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