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 his pleasures.

Diderot who had been under police surveillance since 1747 was swiftly identified as the author. Denis Diderot (French: [dəni didʁo]) (October 5 1713 – July 31 1784) was a French philosopher art critic and writer. The decree did not stop the work which went on but its difficulties increased by the necessity of being clandestine.

He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Denis Diderot (French: [dəni didʁo]) (October 5 1713 – July 31 1784) was a French philosopher art critic and writer.