The antiquity and general acceptance of an opinion is not assurance of its truth.
Pierre BayleRead
In matters of religion, it is very easy to deceive a man and very hard to undeceive him.
Interpretation
People can be easily misled in their beliefs, especially about religion, but it is challenging to change those beliefs once they are established.
This quote by Pierre Bayle highlights the susceptibility of individuals to deception in matters of faith and belief. Once a person has formed a belief, particularly in the realm of religion, it becomes a formidable task to alter that belief, even in the face of evidence or reasoning. This signifies the deep-rooted nature of conviction and the complexities involved in changing one's perspective.
In practice
In a debate about religious beliefs, one might say this quote to emphasize how ingrained convictions can be.
The antiquity and general acceptance of an opinion is not assurance of its truth.
Democratic communities have a natural taste for freedom: left to themselves they will seek it, cherish it, and view any deprivation of it with regret. But for equality their passion is ardent, insatiable, incessant, invincible: they call for equality in freedom; and if they cannot obtain that, they still call for equality in slavery.
I have said to you to speak the truth is a painful thing. To be forced to tell lies is much worse.
Nineteen thousand children [are] dying every day. Does it really matter that we're not walking past them in the street? Does it really matter that they're far away? I don't think it does make a morally relevant difference.
A man sometimes devotes his life to a desire which he is not sure will ever be fulfilled. Those who laugh at this folly are, after all, no more than mere spectators of life.
The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line: the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea.
When the Englishman speaks of national wealth he means the number of millionaires in the country.
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