Nothing is more durable than the dynasty of Doubt; for he reigns in the hearts of all his people, but gives satisfaction to none of them, and yet he is the only despot who can never die, while any of his subjects live.
Charles Caleb ColtonRead
As no roads are so rough as those that have just been mended, so no sinners are so intolerant as those that have just turned saints.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Recent converts to a belief can be the most zealous and rigid in their views.
This quote suggests that individuals who have recently undergone a significant change, such as turning away from sin or adopting a new belief, often exhibit a high level of intolerance towards those who have not made similar changes. It reflects on the tendency of new converts to become overly passionate and harsh in their judgment of others, perhaps due to a desire to prove their commitment to their newfound beliefs.
Themes
IntoleranceChangeConversionJudgmentZeal
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about religious tolerance, this quote highlights the dangers of fanaticism.
More from Charles Caleb Colton
All quotes βIt is astonishing how much more people are interested in lengthening life than improving it.
Charles Caleb ColtonRead
The benevolent have the advantage of the envious, even in this present life; for the envious man is tormented not only by all the ill that befalls himself, but by all the good that happens to another; whereas the benevolent man is the better prepared to bear his own calamities unruffled, from the complacency and serenity he has secured from contemplating the prosperity of all around him.
Charles Caleb ColtonRead
Happiness, that grand mistress of the ceremonies in the dance of life, impels us through all its mazes and meanderings, but leads none of us by the same route.
Charles Caleb ColtonRead
Our minds are as different as our faces. We are all traveling to one destination: happiness, but few are going by the same road.
Charles Caleb ColtonRead
Moderation is the inseparable companion of wisdom, but with it genius has not even a nodding acquaintance.
Charles Caleb ColtonRead
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How well I know what I mean to do When the long dark Autumn evenings come, And where, my soul, is thy pleasant hue? With the music of all thy voices, dumb In lifeβs November too! I shall be found by the fire, suppose, Oβer a great wise book as beseemeth age, While the shutters flap as the cross-wind blows, And I turn the page, and I turn the page, Not verse now, only prose!
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In progressive societies the concentration[of wealth] may reach a point where the strength of number in the many poor rivals the strength of ability in the few rich; then the unstable equilibrium generates a critical situation, which history has diversely met by legislation redistributing wealth or by revolution distributing poverty.
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If we are allowed to do experiments on monkeys because we are superior to them in a certain way, then someone who is superior to me is allowed to do experiments on me.
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A nation is a society united by a delusion about its ancestry and by common hatred of its neighbours.
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["All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant."] The original Hebrew word that has been translated "paths" means "well-worn roads' or "wheel tracks," such ruts as wagons make when they go down our green roads in wet weather and sink in up to the axles. God's ways are at times like heavy wagon tracks that cut deep into our souls, yet all of them are merciful.
Charles SpurgeonRead