--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To say that man is a compound of strength…" description: "\"To say that man is a compound of strength and weakness, light and darkness, smallness and greatness, is not to indict him, it is to define him.\" — Deni..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b8/denis-diderot-1536_compounds_to-say-that-man-is-a-compound-of-strengt_477673.png" --- # To say that man is a compound of strength and weakness… ![“To say that man is a compound of strength and weakness, light and darkness, smallness and greatness, is not to indict him, it is to define him.” quote by Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b8/denis-diderot-1536_compounds_to-say-that-man-is-a-compound-of-strengt_477673.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b8/denis-diderot-1536_compounds_to-say-that-man-is-a-compound-of-strengt_477673.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b8/denis-diderot-1536_compounds_to-say-that-man-is-a-compound-of-strengt_477673.png) > “To say that man is a compound of strength and weakness, light and darkness, smallness and greatness, is not to indict him, it is to define him.” [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human nature encompasses opposing traits; recognizing both strengths and flaws defines us rather than condemns us. **In simple terms:** Man is both strong and weak. Key Takeaway Accept duality of character. Themes human nature dualism self-awareness Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - ethical judgment - self-acceptance Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging both light and darkness shape identity? - Can we improve by focusing on strengths? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compound Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compound-strength-4113836/) [Compounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compounds/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Darkness Smallness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-smallness-4113835/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light and dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-and-dark/) [Light and darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-and-darkness/) [Man Compound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-compound-4113834/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Smallness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smallness/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Strength and weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength-and-weakness/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) ## Related quotes > [I've not conducted my life in the service of smallness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-diller/i-ve-not-conducted-my-life-in-the-service-of-smallness/) [Barry Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-diller/) > [“the way you speak of yourself the way you degrade yourself into smallness is abuse -self-harm”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/the-way-you-speak-of-yourself-the-way-you-degrade-yourself-into/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [There came to him an image of man’s whole life upon the earth. It seemed to him that all man’s life was like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/there-came-to-him-an-image-of-man-s-whole-life-upon-the-earth-it/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [So many things in the world have happened before. But it's like they never did. Every new thing that happens to a person, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/so-many-things-in-the-world-have-happened-before-but-it-s-like-they/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [No matter what people are struggling with, or based on whatever. Sexuality, ethnicity, economic status, size. I don't wish smallness for anyone. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/no-matter-what-people-are-struggling-with-or-based-on-whatever/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I have often thought how strange it is that men can at once and the same moment cheerfully consign our sex to lives either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-power-cobbe/i-have-often-thought-how-strange-it-is-that-men-can-at-once-and-the/) [Frances Power Cobbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-power-cobbe/) > [Infinities and indivisibles transcend our finite understanding, the former on account of their magnitude, the latter because of their smallness; Imagine what they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/infinities-and-indivisibles-transcend-our-finite-understanding-the/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Being here, living now, recognizing our smallness, is a spiritual practice. It allows us to be at peace with our humanity. It humbles us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/being-here-living-now-recognizing-our-smallness-is-a-spiritual/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [To grow is sometimes to hurt, but who would return to smallness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-patton-boyle/to-grow-is-sometimes-to-hurt-but-who-would-return-to-smallness/) [Sarah-Patton Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-patton-boyle/) > [It's the abject smallness of the earth that gets you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-roosa/it-s-the-abject-smallness-of-the-earth-that-gets-you/) [Stuart Roosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-roosa/) > [Smallness in a great man seems smaller by its disproportion with all the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/smallness-in-a-great-man-seems-smaller-by-its-disproportion-with-all/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“There’s strength in observing one’s miniaturization. That you are insignificant and prone to, and God knows, dumb about a lot. Because doesn’t smallness prime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/durga-chew-bose/there-s-strength-in-observing-one-s-miniaturization-that-you-are/) [Durga Chew-Bose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/durga-chew-bose/) > [The reason "other churches" don't grow: "Jim, the truth is, I couldn't have a real prayer meeting in my church. I'd be embarrassed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cymbala/the-reason-other-churches-don-t-grow-jim-the-truth-is-i-couldn-t-have/) [Jim Cymbala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cymbala/) > [“Who you are is limited only by who you think you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/normandi-ellis/who-you-are-is-limited-only-by-who-you-think-you-are/) [Normandi Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/normandi-ellis/) > [Those who remain content easily remain small: small are their joys, small are their ecstasies, small are their silences, small is their being. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/those-who-remain-content-easily-remain-small-small-are-their-joys/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) ## More by Denis Diderot > [But if you will recall the history of our civil troubles, you will see half the nation bathe itself, out of piety, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/but-if-you-will-recall-the-history-of-our-civil-troubles-you-will-see/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [One declaims endlessly against the passions; one imputes all of man's suffering to them. One forgets that they are also the source of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/one-declaims-endlessly-against-the-passions-one-imputes-all-of-man-s/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Time, matter, space - all, it may be, are no more than a point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/time-matter-space-all-it-may-be-are-no-more-than-a-point/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [We are far more liable to catch the vices than the virtues of our associates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/we-are-far-more-liable-to-catch-the-vices-than-the-virtues-of-our/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [One composition is meagre, though it has many figures; another is rich, though it has few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/one-composition-is-meagre-though-it-has-many-figures-another-is-rich/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [I have only a small flickering light to guide me in the darkness of a thick forest. Up comes a theologian and blows it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/i-have-only-a-small-flickering-light-to-guide-me-in-the-darkness-of-a/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [The world is the house of the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/the-world-is-the-house-of-the-strong/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“One swallows the lie that flatters, but sips the bitter truth drop by drop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/one-swallows-the-lie-that-flatters-but-sips-the-bitter-truth-drop-by/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [There is less harm to be suffered in being mad among madmen than in being sane all by oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/there-is-less-harm-to-be-suffered-in-being-mad-among-madmen-than-in/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Integrity is the evidence of all civil virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/integrity-is-the-evidence-of-all-civil-virtues/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in order always means getting other people under your control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/watch-out-for-the-fellow-who-talks-about-putting-things-in-order/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“Nie wiem, co to zasady, chyba że tak nazywamy prawidła, które przypisuje się innym, a nie sobie. Myślę tak, a nie umiałbym się powstrzymać…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/nie-wiem-co-to-zasady-chyba-e-tak-nazywamy-prawid-a-kt-re-przypisuje/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [There is no good father who would want to resemble our Heavenly Father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/there-is-no-good-father-who-would-want-to-resemble-our-heavenly-father/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Isn't it better to have men being ungrateful than to miss a chance to do good?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/isn-t-it-better-to-have-men-being-ungrateful-than-to-miss-a-chance-to/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [A nation which thinks that it is belief in God and not good law which makes people honest does not seem to me very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/a-nation-which-thinks-that-it-is-belief-in-god-and-not-good-law-which/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) [Explore all 210 Denis Diderot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) ## More Compounds quotes > [The strongest force in the universe is Compound Interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-strongest-force-in-the-universe-is-compound-interest/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [We should picture the instrument that carries our mental functioning as resembling a compound microscope or photographic apparatus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-should-picture-the-instrument-that-carries-our-mental-functioning/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [There is here a great melting pot in which we must compound a precious metal. That metal is the metal of nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/there-is-here-a-great-melting-pot-in-which-we-must-compound-a/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [All human power is a compound of time and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-human-power-is-a-compound-of-time-and-patience/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“Ivy waved the wet handkerchief, as much as to say, words cannot possibly articulate my profound distress. Then, because Ivy never settled for meaningful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-carriger/ivy-waved-the-wet-handkerchief-as-much-as-to-say-words-cannot/) [Gail Carriger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-carriger/) > [Danced healing rituals (in African village compounds, temple courtyards, dance-therapy studios, public theaters, and other social settings) reinvoke old traumas for exorcism and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lynne-hanna/danced-healing-rituals-in-african-village-compounds-temple-courtyards/) [Judith Lynne Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lynne-hanna/) > [The poet's mind is in fact a receptacle for seizing and storing up numberless feelings, phrases, images, which remain there until all the particles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-poet-s-mind-is-in-fact-a-receptacle-for-seizing-and-storing-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The body is mortal and the mind is mortal; both, being compounds, must die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-body-is-mortal-and-the-mind-is-mortal-both-being-compounds-must/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Sybil's female forebears had valiantly backed up their husbands as distant embassies were besieged, had given birth on a camel or in the shade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/sybil-s-female-forebears-had-valiantly-backed-up-their-husbands-as/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Nothing is as boundary dissolving, except for psychedelic compounds, as travel. Travel is up there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/nothing-is-as-boundary-dissolving-except-for-psychedelic-compounds-as/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Welcome to the Amity compound," Johanna's eyes fix on my face, and she smiles crookedly. "Let us take care of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/welcome-to-the-amity-compound-johanna-s-eyes-fix-on-my-face-and-she/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Those opportunity gaps begin early, often at birth. And they compound over time, becoming harder and harder to bridge, making too many young men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/those-opportunity-gaps-begin-early-often-at-birth-and-they-compound/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The monad, of which we shall speak here, is nothing but a simple substance which enters into compounds; simple, that is to say, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/the-monad-of-which-we-shall-speak-here-is-nothing-but-a-simple/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [Coffee, one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, contains a plethora of naturally-occurring compounds, including several classes of antioxidants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/coffee-one-of-the-most-widely-consumed-beverages-in-the-world/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) [Browse all 299 Compounds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compounds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To say that man is a compound of strength and weakness, light and darkness, smallness and greatness, is not to indict him, it is to define him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Denis Diderot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/to-say-that-man-is-a-compound-of-strength-and-weakness-light-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compounds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/to-say-that-man-is-a-compound-of-strength-and-weakness-light-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b8/denis-diderot-1536_compounds_to-say-that-man-is-a-compound-of-strengt_477673.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b8/denis-diderot-1536_compounds_to-say-that-man-is-a-compound-of-strengt_477673.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b8/denis-diderot-1536_compounds_to-say-that-man-is-a-compound-of-strengt_477673.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To say that man is a compound of strength and weakness, light and darkness, smallness and greatness, is not…” — Denis Diderot", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Denis Diderot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To say that man is a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/to-say-that-man-is-a-compound-of-strength-and-weakness-light-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/to-say-that-man-is-a-compound-of-strength-and-weakness-light-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```