Helvetius, Claude Adrien

French encyclopedist and sensualist philosopher

forerunner of utilitarianism

wrote "De l'Esprit" 1758 (also "Essays on the Mind")

• "There are men whom a happy disposition, a strong desire of glory and esteem, inspire with the same love for justice and virtue which men in general have for riches and honors....But the number of these men is so small that I only mention them in honor of humanity."
• "To limit the press is to insult a nation; to prohibit reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be either fools or slaves."
• "Genius is nothing but continued attention."