“And in these foure things, Opinion of Ghosts, Ignorance of second causes, Devotion towards what men fear, and Taking of things Casuall for Prognostics, consisteth the Natural seed of Religion; which by reason of the different Fancies, Judgements, and Passions of severall men, hath grown up into ceremonies so different, that those which are used by one man, are for the most part ridiculous to another.”

—  Thomas Hobbes , book Leviathan

The First Part, Chapter 12, p. 54
Leviathan (1651)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "And in these foure things, Opinion of Ghosts, Ignorance of second causes, Devotion towards what men fear, and Taking of…" by Thomas Hobbes?
Thomas Hobbes photo
Thomas Hobbes 97
English philosopher, born 1588 1588–1679

Related quotes

Charles Hamilton (writer) photo
Thomas Hobbes photo
Martin Luther photo
Julian of Norwich photo
Heraclitus photo

“Men are at variance with the one thing with which they are in the most unbroken communion, the reason that administers the whole universe.”

Heraclitus (-535) pre-Socratic Greek philosopher

Fragment 93
Friedrich Nietzsche's translation: The law under which most of them ceaselessly have commerce they reject for themselves. (The Pre-Platonic Philosophers, Chapter 10)]
Numbered fragments

Socrates photo
George Washington photo

“Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated.”

George Washington (1732–1799) first President of the United States

Letter to Edward Newenham (20 October 1792) http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=WasFi32.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=155&division=div1, these statements and one from a previous letter to Newenham seem to have become combined and altered into a misquotation of Washington's original statements to read:
1790s
Context: Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society.

Umberto Eco photo
Samuel Johnson photo

“Avarice is generally the last passion of those lives of which the first part has been squandered in pleasure, and the second devoted to ambition.”

No. 151 (27 August 1751). http://books.google.com/books?id=VvhDAAAAYAAJ&q=%22avarice+is+generally+the+last+passion+of+those+lives+of+which+the+first+part+has+been+squandered+in+pleasure+and+the+second+devoted+to+ambition%22&pg=PA262#v=onepage
The Rambler (1750–1752)

Thomas Hobbes photo

Related topics