Your corn is ripe today; mine will be so tomorrow. 'Tis profitable for us both, that I should labour with you today, and that you should aid me tomorrow.
David HumeRead
It is an absurdity to believe that the Deity has human passions, and one of the lowest of human passions, a restless appetite for applause
Interpretation
What this quote means
Hume critiques the notion of attributing human emotions to God, particularly the desire for recognition.
In this quote, David Hume argues that it is unreasonable to think of God as having human-like passions, especially the desire for approval or applause. He suggests that such a view reduces the divine to a lowly human trait, undermining the true nature of a higher power that should be beyond human whims and desires.
Themes
GodDivineHuman PassionsApplauseAbsurdityBelief
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical discussion, one might use this quote to challenge the anthropomorphism of God.
More from David Hume
All quotes βEloquence, at its highest pitch, leaves little room for reason or reflection, but addresses itself entirely to the desires and affections, captivating the willing hearers, and subduing their understanding.
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All that belongs to human understanding, in this deep ignorance and obscurity, is to be sceptical, or at least cautious, and not to admit of any hypothesis whatever, much less of any which is supported by no appearance of probability.
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The great end of all human industry is the attainment of happiness
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There is a very remarkable inclination in human nature to bestow on external objects the same emotions which it observes in itself, and to find every where those ideas which are most present to it.
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To have recourse to the veracity of the supreme Being, in order to prove the veracity of our senses, is surely making a very unexpected circuit.
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