Priests

Famous quotes containing the word priests:

    It is evident, from their method of propagation, that a couple of cats, in fifty years, would stock a whole kingdom; and if that religious veneration were still paid them, it would, in twenty more, not only be easier in Egypt to find a god than a man, which Petronius says was the case in some parts of Italy; but the gods must at last entirely starve the men, and leave themselves neither priests nor votaries remaining.
    David Hume (1711–1776)

    Along the avenue of cypresses,
    All in their scarlet cloaks and surplices
    Of linen, go the chanting choristers,
    The priests in gold and black, the villagers. . . .
    —D.H. (David Herbert)

    Preach in the name of God. The learned will smile; ask the learned what they have done for their country. The priests will excommunicate you; say to the priests that you know God better than all of them together do, and that between God and His law you have no need of any intermediary. The people will understand you, and repeat with you: We believe in God the Father, who is Intelligence and Love, Creator and Teacher of Humanity. And in this saying you and the People will conquer.
    Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872)