“It is the high priests that make demands — not the gods they serve.”
Stanisław Jerzy Lec (1909–1966) Polish writer
More Unkempt Thoughts (1964)
“They, like many priests, had been much too fanatical and not nearly as clever as the god they served.”
— Fritz Leiber, book Swords Against Death
The Seven Black Priests (pp. 175-176)
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series (1939-1988), Swords Against Death (1970)
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Fritz Leiber67
American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction 1910–1992Related quotes
Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) Union United States Army officer
A Christmas Sermon (1890)
Context: Back of all these superstitions you will find some self-interest. I do not say that this is true in every case, but I do say that if priests had not been fond of mutton, lambs never would have been sacrificed to God. Nothing was ever carried to the temple that the priest could not use, and it always so happened that God wanted what his agents liked. Now, I will not say that all priests have been priests “for revenue only,” but I must say that the history of the world tends to show that the sacerdotal class prefer revenue without religion to religion without revenue.
Tim Powers book The Stress of Her Regard
Source: The Stress of Her Regard (1989), Chapter 17 (p. 285; quoting from the journal of Edward Williams)
G. K. Chesterton book The Napoleon of Notting Hill
Book I, Chapter II: "The Man in Green"
The Napoleon of Notting Hill (1904)
“Whoever worships the gods in good faith, loves their priests too.”
Qui bona fide deos colit amat et sacerdotes.
Preface, line 10
Silvae, Book V
“Whoever tries to stop the saying of mass is a worse fanatic than the priest who says it.”
Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794) French revolutionary lawyer and politician
Attacking the Dechristianization movement
Misc Quotes
Robert P. Reed (1959) American auxiliary bishop and religious servant
Bishop Robert Reed: Living God's will 'has been the joy of my life' https://thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=177278 (August 26, 2016)
Alex Salmond (1954) Scottish National Party politician and former First Minister of Scotland
[Alex Salmond's father at HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier ceremony http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-28158107] ' (4 July 2014)
