Moses Mendelssohn Quotes
Moses Mendelssohn was a German-Jewish philosopher and the central figure of the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment. Largely self-taught, he became a leading representative of the Berlin Enlightenment alongside Lessing, who modeled the title character of Nathan the Wise on him. The quotes below are attributed to Moses Mendelssohn, organized by topic.
Browse Moses Mendelssohn by topic
Moses Mendelssohn on Freedom
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Attributed to Moses Mendelssohn:
“I demand only the freedom to think for myself.”
Moses Mendelssohn on God
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Attributed to Moses Mendelssohn:
“Religion of reason can never be in contradiction with itself.”
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“Divine religion ... does not prod men with an iron rod; it guides them with bands of love. It draws no avenging sword, dispenses no temporal goods, assumes no right to any earthly possessions, and claims no external power over the mind. Its weapons are reason and persuasion; its strength is the divine power of truth.”
p. 73
Moses Mendelssohn on Mind
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Attributed to Moses Mendelssohn:
“Reason is the soul's eye, faith its trust.”
Moses Mendelssohn on Politics
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Attributed to Moses Mendelssohn:
“The state and religion have entirely different goals.”
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“The state gives orders and coerces, religion teaches and persuades. The state prescribes laws , religion commandments . The state has physical power and uses it when necessary; the power of religion is love and benificence . The one abandons the disobedient and expels him; the other receives him in its bosom and seeks to instruct, or at least to console him.”
p. 45
Moses Mendelssohn on Truth
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Attributed to Moses Mendelssohn:
“The conviction of the truth must spring up freely in the mind.”