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We frolic in our emancipation from theology, but have we developed a natural ethic — a moral code independent of religion — strong enough to keep our instincts of acquisition, pugnacity, and sex from debasing our civilization into a mire of greed, crime, and promiscuity? Have we really outgrown intolerance, or merely transferred it from religious to national, ideological, or racial hostilities?

— Will Durant

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Religion

More quotes by Will Durant

It is a mistake to think that the past is dead. Nothing that has ever happened is quite without influence at this moment.

The Gentle Philosopher (2006)

Power dements even more than it corrupts, lowering the guard of foresight and raising the haste of action.

The Story of Civilization (1935)

Caesar and Christ had met in the arena, and Christ had won.

The Story of Civilization (1935)

I felt more keenly than before the need of a philosophy that would do justice to the infinite vitality of nature.

Transition (1927)

There is nothing in Greek civilization that does not illuminate our own.

The Story of Civilization (1935)

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All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

Albert Einstein Moral Decay (1937)

Science and religion are two human enterprises sharing many features.

Freeman Dyson Infinite in All Directions (1988)

The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.

John Adams A Defence of the Constitutions of Government (1787)

The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.

Thomas Babington Macaulay History of England (1849)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Will Durant (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.