“My main problem was, naturally, religion: from it I moved later on to the principles of ethics. First to be examined was my positive religion [ie. Judaism]. It collapsed. So I wanted to base myself on naturaly religion: but my agony was so great, that this [foundation] also collapsed before my eyes. Nothing, nothing remained. I was the most miserable person in the world. I became an atheist.”

—  Moses Hess

Hess' Diary p. 40

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 "My main problem was, naturally, religion: from it I moved later on to the principles of ethics. First to be examined wa…" by Moses Hess?
Moses Hess photo
Moses Hess 8
German philosopher 1812–1875

Related quotes

Kirk Douglas photo
Lal Bahadur Shastri photo
Ludwig Feuerbach photo
Ba Jin photo

“Before my eyes are many miserable scenes, the suffering of others and myself forces my hands to move. I become a machine for writing.”

Ba Jin (1904–2005) Chinese novelist

As quoted in "Literary witness to century of turmoil" in China Daily (24 November 2003)

Thomas Jefferson photo
Lisa Randall photo
George Bernard Shaw photo

“Undershaft: My religion? Well, my dear, I am a Millionaire. That is my religion.”

George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish playwright

Act II
1900s, Major Barbara (1905)

Claude Debussy photo

“I do not practise religion in accordance with the sacred rites. I have made mysterious Nature my religion.”

Claude Debussy (1862–1918) French composer

As quoted in Claude Debussy: His Life and Works (1933) by Léon Vallas, p. 225
Variant translation: Before the passing sky, in long hours of contemplation of its magnificent and ever-changing beauty, I am seized by an incomparable emotion. The whole expanse of nature is reflected in my own sincere and feeble soul. Around me the branches of trees reach out toward the firmament, here are sweet-scented flowers smiling in the meadow, here the soft earth is carpeted with sweet herbs. … Nature invites its ephemeral and trembling travelers to experience these wonderful and disturbing spectacles — that is what I call prayer.
As quoted in The Life of the Creative Spirit (2001) by H. Charles Romesburg, p. 240
Context: I do not practise religion in accordance with the sacred rites. I have made mysterious Nature my religion. I do not believe that a man is any nearer to God for being clad in priestly garments, nor that one place in a town is better adapted to meditation than another. When I gaze at a sunset sky and spend hours contemplating its marvelous ever-changing beauty, an extraordinary emotion overwhelms me. Nature in all its vastness is truthfully reflected in my sincere though feeble soul. Around me are the trees stretching up their branches to the skies, the perfumed flowers gladdening the meadow, the gentle grass-carpetted earth, … and my hands unconsciously assume an attitude of adoration. … To feel the supreme and moving beauty of the spectacle to which Nature invites her ephemeral guests! … that is what I call prayer.

John Henry Newman photo
John Toland photo

Related topics