Skip to content

Human character is never found "to enter into its glory," except through the ordeal of affliction. Its force cannot come forth without the offer of resistance, nor can the grandeur of its free will declare itself, except in the battle of fierce temptation.

— James Martineau Hours of Thought on Sacred Things (1879)

Another quote →

More quotes by James Martineau

There is no room in the universe for the least contempt or pride; but only for a gentle and a reverent heart.

Hours of Thought on Sacred Things (1879)

There is no human life so poor and small as not to hold many a divine possibility.

Trust arises from the mind's instinctive feeling after fixed realities, after the substance of every shadow, the base of all appearance, the everlasting amid change.

Hours of Thought on Sacred Things (1879)

God loves our mercy to one another; but not upon conditions at variance with sanctity to Him.

Religion is no more possible without prayer than poetry without language, or music without atmosphere.

All James Martineau quotes →

Attribution

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