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The quintessential emblem of religion—and the clearest manifestation of the perversity that lies at its core—is the sacrifice of a child by a parent.

— Stephen Greenblatt The Swerve (2011)

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Religion

More quotes by Stephen Greenblatt

Allusions to "hidden counsels" and "mysterious reasons" are almost always the mark of doctrinal incoherence.

Hamlet in Purgatory (2002)

The pattern of dreaming and deferral and compromise is an altogether familiar one: it is the epitome of a failed life.

The Swerve (2011)

It is extremely dangerous to have a state run by someone who governs by impulse.

Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics (2018)

Art always penetrates the particular fissures in one’s psychic life.

The Swerve (2011)

I am committed by trade to urging people to attend carefully to the verbal surfaces of what they read.

The Swerve (2011)

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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)

Attribution

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