“The corruption of the world and of the worldliness is a consequence of the fact that men have no eye whatever for the majesty of God in and around themselves;”

“This world has been corrupt from the beginning. It was humans who corrupted the noble order with manipulative ideas. They always tend to seek justification for themselves. The fact is that no one can escape from personal motives and subjectivity.”

“They [men] have corrupted this [God's supernatural] order by making profane things what they should make of holy things, because in fact, we believe scarcely any thing except which pleases us.”

“God wants us to know we are saved, for saved people are dangerous people, willing to face off with the world, unafraid of the consequences since they know that, whatever happens, they will have eternal life.”

“In itself and in its consequences the life of leisure is beautiful and ennobling in all civilised men's eyes.”

“God fills us with all sorts of yearnings that go against the grain of the world—but the fact those yearnings often come to nothing, well, I doubt that’s God’s doing.” She cut her eyes at me and smiled. “I think we know that’s men’s doing.”

“The people think of wealth and power as the greatest fate,
But in this world a spell of health is the best state.
What men call sovereignty is a worldly strife and constant war;
Worship of God is the highest throne, the happiest of all estates.”

“Men rarely if ever dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.”

“I believe that the gods themselves are frightened of the world which they have fashioned.”

“The Chinese say that we Europeans have one eye, they themselves two, all the world else is blinde.”