Who said “I have always taken as the standard of the mode of teaching and writing, not the…”?

Verified

Ludwig Feuerbach. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourcePreface to Second Edition (1843)

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“I have always taken as the standard of the mode of teaching and writing, not the abstract, particular, professional philosopher, but universal man, that I have regarded man as the criterion of truth, and not this or that founder of a system, and have from the first placed the highest excellence of the philosopher in this, that he abstains, both as a man and as an author, from the ostentation of philosophy, i.e., that he is a philosopher only in reality, not formally, that he is a quiet philosopher, not a loud and still less a brawling one.”
VerifiedPreface to Second Edition (1843) · evidencePhilosophers and Philosophy

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Preface to Second Edition (1843).

APA

Feuerbach, L. (n.d.). I have always taken as the standard of the mode of teaching and writing, not the abstract, particular, professional philosopher, but universal man, that I have regarded man as the criterion of truth, and not this or that founder of a system, and have from the first placed the highest excellence of the philosopher in this, that he abstains, both as a man and as an author, from the ostentation of philosophy, i.e., that he is a philosopher only in reality, not formally, that he is a quiet philosopher, not a loud and still less a brawling one. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/32453-i-have-always-taken-as-the-standard-of/

MLA

Feuerbach, Ludwig. “I have always taken as the standard of the mode of teaching and writing, not the abstract, particular, professional philosopher, but universal man, that I have regarded man as the criterion of truth, and not this or that founder of a system, and have from the first placed the highest excellence of the philosopher in this, that he abstains, both as a man and as an author, from the ostentation of philosophy, i.e., that he is a philosopher only in reality, not formally, that he is a quiet philosopher, not a loud and still less a brawling one.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/32453-i-have-always-taken-as-the-standard-of/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Feuerbach, Ludwig. “I have always taken as the standard of the mode of teaching and writing, not the abstract, particular, professional philosopher, but universal man, that I have regarded man as the criterion of truth, and not this or that founder of a system, and have from the first placed the highest excellence of the philosopher in this, that he abstains, both as a man and as an author, from the ostentation of philosophy, i.e., that he is a philosopher only in reality, not formally, that he is a quiet philosopher, not a loud and still less a brawling one.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/32453-i-have-always-taken-as-the-standard-of/.