A necessary consequent of religious belief is the attaching ideas of merit to that belief, and of demerit to its absence. Frances Wright More Quotes by Frances Wright More Quotes From Frances Wright All that I say is, examine, inquire. Look into the nature of things. Search out the grounds of your opinions, the for and against. Know why you believe, understand what you believe, and possess a reason for the faith that is in you. Frances Wright faith believe looks What were the glories of the sun, if we knew not the gloom of darkness? Frances Wright glory darkness sun Equality is the soul of liberty; there is, in fact, no liberty without it. Frances Wright equality community inspirational I am neither Jew nor Gentile, Mohammedan nor Theist; I am but a member of the human family, and would accept of truth by whomsoever offered -- that truth which we can all find, if we will but seek in things, not in words; in nature, not in human imagination; in our own hearts, not in temples made with hands. Frances Wright imagination heart hands We are on the earth, and they tell us of heaven; we are human beings, and they tell us of angels and devils; we are matter, and they tell us of spirit; we have five senses whereby to admit truths, and a reasoning faculty by which to build our belief upon them; and they tell us of dreams dreamed thousands of years ago, which our experience flatly contradicts. Frances Wright angel dream years the mode of delivering a truth makes, for the most part, as much impression on the mind of the listener as the truth itself. Frances Wright impression truth mind Trust me, there are as many ways of living as there are men, and one is no more fit to lead another, than a bird to lead a fish, or a fish a quadruped. Frances Wright leadership bird men it is not that religion is merely useless, it is mischievous. It is mischievous by its idle terrors; it is mischievous by its false morality; it is mischievous by its hypocrisy; by its fanaticism; by its dogmatism; by its threats; by its hopes; by its promises. Frances Wright Turn your churches into halls of science, and devote your leisure day to the study of your own bodies, the analysis of your own minds, and the examination of the fair material world which extends around you! Frances Wright leisure church mind Equality! Where is it, if not in education? Equal rights! They cannot exist without equality of instruction. Frances Wright diversity rights justice ... a nation to be strong, must be united; to be united, must be equal in condition; to be equal in condition, must be similar inhabits and feeling; to be similar in habits and feeling, must be raised in national institutions as the children of a common family, and citizens of a common country. Frances Wright strong country children Credulity is always a ridiculous, often a dangerous failing: it has made of many a clever man, a fool; and of many a good man, a knave. Frances Wright good-man clever men ... so far from entrenching human conduct within the gentle barriers of peace and love, religion has ever been, and now is, the deepest source of contentions, wars, persecutions for conscience sake, angry words, angry feelings, backbitings, slanders, suspicions, false judgments, evil interpretations, unwise, unjust, injurious, inconsistent actions. Frances Wright evil feelings war Opinions are not to be learned by rote, like the letters of an alphabet, or the words of a dictionary. They are conclusions to be formed, and formed by each individual in the sacred and free citadel of the mind, and there enshrined beyond the arm of law to reach, or force to shake; ay! and beyond the right of impertinent curiosity to violate, or presumptuous arrogance to threaten. Frances Wright arrogance curiosity law Credulity is always ridiculous. Frances Wright credulity ridiculous The knowledge of one generation is the ignorance of the next. Frances Wright next generations ignorance The simplest principles become difficult of practice, when habits, formed in error, have been fixed by time, and the simplest truths hard to receive when prejudice has warped the mind. Frances Wright errors practice mind I shall say, that I feel myself virtuous, because my soul is at rest. Frances Wright virtuous soul ease Pets, like their owners, tend to expand a little over the Christmas period. Frances Wright christmas pet littles Moral truth, resting entirely upon the ascertained consequences of actions, supposes a process of observation and reasoning. Frances Wright morality process action
