Fanaticism Obliterates The Feelings Of

A State Of Skepticism And Suspense May Amuse A Few Inquisitive Minds. But The Practice Of Superstition Is So Congenial To The Multitude That, If They Are Forcibly Awakened, They Still Regret The Loss Of Their Pleasing Vision.

Corruption, The Most Infallible Symptom Of Constitutional Liberty.

Active Valour May Often Be The Present Of Nature; But Such Patient Diligence Can Be The Fruit Only Of Habit And Discipline.

[the Monks'] Credulity Debased And Vitiated The Faculties Of The Mind: They Corrupted The Evidence Of History; And Superstition Gradually Extinguished The Hostile Light Of Philosophy And Science.

But How Shall We Excuse The Supine Inattention Of The Pagan And Philosophic World To Those Evidences Which Were Presented By The Hand Of Omnipotence, Not To Their Reason, But To Their Senses? During The Age Of Christ, Of His Apostles, And Their First Disciples, The Doctrine Which They Preached Was Confirmed By Innumerable Prodigies. The Lame Walked, The Blind Saw, The Sick Were Healed, The Dead Were Raised, Daemons Were Expelled, And The Laws Of Nature Were Frequently Suspended For The Benefit Of The Church.