Chabrias, ever preoccupied to offer the gods the worship due them, was disturbed by the progress of sects of this kind among the populace of large cities; he feared for the welfare of our ancient religions, which yoke men to no dogma whatsoever, but lend themselves, on the contrary, to interpretations as varied as nature itself; they allow austere spirits who desire to do so to invent for themselves a higher morality, but they do not bind the masses to precepts so strict as to engender immediate constraint and hypocrisy.

About This Quote

About Marguerite Yourcenar

Marguerite Yourcenar was a 20th-century French novelist and essayist. Marguerite Yourcenar was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the Prix Femina and the Erasmus Prize, she was the first woman elected to the Académie Française, in 1980. Read more on Wikipedia →

Themes

  • Faith — Reflections on belief, spirituality, and trust in the unseen
  • Religion — Exploring belief systems, worship, and spiritual practice

More quotes by Marguerite Yourcenar

Related Quotes