Jean de la Bruyere Quotes
What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of one's knowledge, and what is to be their end? What can be more deeply disheartening than to wonder whether one's soul is, perhaps, a material thing, like a stone or a reptile, corruptible like these base creatures? Is there not more strength and greatness of mind in admitting the idea of a being superior to all other beings, who has made them all and to whom all owe their existence; of a being supremely perfect, who is pure, who had no beginning and can have no ending, of whom our soul is the image and, so to speak, a portion, being a spiritual and immortal thing?
La Bruyère, Jean de. The Characters of Jean de La Bruyère. Translated by Henri Van Laun, John C. Nimmo, 1885, p. 458.
Here we have an example of a government that tried to go into the Religion business. They wanted Christian religion but not the Catholic Church which at the time was the only Christian church. Many of the most extreme French revolutionists had a problem with religion. They were personally believers and recognized that most French people were. But the organized Roman Catholic Church was a major ally and supporter of the hated monarchy, and at the time was extremely corrupt at the expense of the people. The nobility were also the highest officials of the church in France. One solution they tried was to have the “people’s government” establish days and methods of worship, an effort that in retrospect appears ludicrous to us today.
Jean de La Bruyère was a French philosopher and moralist, who was noted for his satire.
