Mary McCarthy Quotes
Morality did not keep well; it required stable conditions; it was costly; it was subject to variations, and the market for it was uncertain.
McCarthy, Mary. The Company She Keeps. Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1942, p. 136.
This quotation is sometimes used to show that Washington thought religion important. Most of the founding fathers thought religion both important and potentially dangerous. They had observed Europe tear itself apart over religious differences. Note that Washington uses the words “religious principles” as opposed to “religion” or “religious prescriptions” or “religious doctrine.” The founders were not hostile to the concept of religion—even Jefferson and Franklin saw potential values in religion and religious institutions. They were hostile, however, to letting any particular sect dominate the religious environment of the nation. Nor did they want any of the religions controlling or operating the civil government. See {625616}.
Mary Therese McCarthy was an American novelist, critic and political activist, best known for her novel The Group, her marriage to critic Edmund Wilson, and her storied feud with playwright Lillian Hellman.
