WIST Quotations

Carlyle, Thomas -- Lecture (1840-05-15), “The Hero as Priest,” Home House, Portman Square, London

Dave — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 19:07:01 +0000

Is not every true Reformer, by the nature of him, a Priest first of all? He appeals to Heaven’s invisible justice against Earth’s visible force; knows that it, the invisible, is strong and alone strong. He is a believer in the divine truth of things; a seer, seeing through the shows of things; a worshipper, in one way or the other, of the divine truth of things; a Priest, that is. If he be not first a Priest, he will never be good for much as a Reformer.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Lecture (1840-05-15), “The Hero as Priest,” Home House, Portman Square, London
(Source)

The lecture notes were collected by Carlyle into On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History, Lecture 4 (1841).

Mackay, Charles -- Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, “Modern Prophecies” (1841)

Dave — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 14:41:00 +0000

During seasons of great pestilence, men have often believed the prophecies of crazed fanatics, that the end of the world was come. Credulity is always greatest in times of calamity.

Charles Mackay (1814-1889) Scottish poet, journalist, song writer
Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, “Modern Prophecies” (1841)
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- “Thomas Paine” (1870)

Dave — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 20:17:25 +0000

Nothing so outrages the feelings of the church as a moral unbeliever — nothing so horrible as a charitable Atheist.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
“Thomas Paine” (1870)
(Source)

Allen, Steve -- Vulgarians at the Gate (2001)

Dave — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 17:27:40 +0000

Religious believers of the world, you are free to continue to debate the simple, narrow question that divides you from atheists, but you have no right, in so doing, to treat the Humanists of the world with contempt. You owe them a deep debt of gratitude, for not only have they shed much light on a naturally dark world but they have very probably helped civilize your own specific religion.

Steve Allen (1922-2000) American composer, entertainer, and wit.
Vulgarians at the Gate (2001)
(Source)

Greene, Graham -- The Comedians [Dr. Magiot] (1966)

Dave — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 21:41:39 +0000

If you have abandoned one faith, do not abandon all faith. There is always an alternative to the faith we lose. Or is it the same faith under another mask?

Graham Greene (1904-1991) English novelist [Henry Graham Greene]
The Comedians [Dr. Magiot] (1966)
(Source)

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Essay (1860), “Worship,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 6

Dave — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 21:48:15 +0000

We are born believing. A man bears beliefs as a tree bears apples.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1860), “Worship,” The Conduct of Life, ch. 6
(Source)

Based on a course of lectures, "The Conduct of Life," delivered in Pittsburg (1851-03).

Harris, Sydney J. -- “Strictly Personal” column (8 Apr 1955)

Dave — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 15:43:08 +0000

The most dangerous heresy of our time, it bears repeating, is the belief that belief in itself is a good thing, regardless of its content; for faith that is attached to an unworthy or inadequate object makes people less than they are, not more.

Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986) Anglo-American columnist, journalist, author
“Strictly Personal” column (8 Apr 1955)
(Source)

Reprinted in Leaving the Surface (1968).

Muhammad -- The Sayings of Muhammed, #67 [tr. Al-Suhrawardy (1941)]

Dave — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 14:48:18 +0000

If you derive pleasure from the good which you have performed and you grieve for the evil which you have committed, you are a true believer.

Muhammad (AD c. 570-632) Arab religious, military, and political leader; founder of Islam [Mohammed, مُحَمَّد]
The Sayings of Muhammed, #67 [tr. Al-Suhrawardy (1941)]

Stoppard, Tom -- Jumpers, Act 1 (1972)

Dave — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 11:41:21 +0000

GEORGE: There is presumably a calendar date — a moment — when the onus of proof passed from the atheist to the believer, when, quite suddenly, secretly, the noes had it.

Tom Stoppard (1937-2025) Czech-English playwright and screenwriter
Jumpers, Act 1 (1972)

Hoffer, Eric -- True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 13, § 62 (1951)

Dave — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 13:38:11 +0000

The opposite of the religious fanatic is not the fanatical atheist but the gentle cynic who cares not whether there is a god or not.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 13, § 62 (1951)
(Source)

Shaw, George Bernard -- Androcles and the Lion, Preface (1912)

Dave — Fri, 09 Jul 2004 11:02:21 +0000

The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality of happiness, and by no means a necessity of life.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
Androcles and the Lion, Preface (1912)
(Source)

Shaw, George Bernard -- Man and Superman, “Maxims for Revolutionists: Idolatry” (1903)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The savage bows down to idols of wood and stone: the civilized man to idols of flesh and blood.

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish playwright and critic
Man and Superman, “Maxims for Revolutionists: Idolatry” (1903)
(Source)