Education, the great mumbo jumbo and fraud of the age purports to equip us to live and is prescribed as a universal remedy for everything from juvenile delinquency to premature senility.
Sex is the mysticism of materialism and the only possible religion in a materialistic society.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that in a society focused on materialism, sex becomes a spiritual experience that transcends physical reality.
Malcolm Muggeridge's quote reflects on the idea that within a materialistic society, where tangible possessions often take precedence, sex can serve as a profound and almost mystical experience. It highlights the contrast between the physical world and deeper human connection, implying that, amidst a focus on materialism, sex stands out as a unique avenue through which individuals can explore meaning, joy, and perhaps even a sense of spirituality.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about modern relationships, one might quote this to illustrate how intimacy can fulfill deeper needs beyond material possessions.
More from Malcolm Muggeridge
All quotes βThis life in us; however low it flickers or fiercely burns, is still a divine flame which no man dare presume to put out, be his motives never so humane and enlightened; To suppose otherwise is to countenance a death-wish; Either life is always and in all circumstances sacred, or intrinsically of no account; it is inconceivable that it should be in some cases the one, and in some the other.
I never met a rich man who was happy, but I have only very occasionally met a poor man who did not want to become a rich man.
It was a somber place, haunted by old jokes and lost laughter. Life, as I discovered, holds no more wretched occupation than trying to make the English laugh.
Bad humor is an evasion of reality; good humor is an acceptance of it.
The only ultimate disaster that can befall us is to feel ourselves at home on this earth.
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The twentieth century must be a century of the Blessed Sacrament if it means to be a century of resurrection and of life
The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates.
Was it for this the wild geese spread The gray wing upon every tide; For this that all that blood was shed, For this. Edward Fitzgerald died, And Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone, All that delirium of the brave? Romantic Ireland's dead and gone, It's with O'Leary in the grave.
True character arises from a deeper well than religion. It is the internalization of moral principles of a society, augmented by those tenets personally chosen by the individual, strong enough to endure through trials of solitude and adversity. The principles are fitted together into what we call integrity, literally the integrated self, wherein personal decisions feel good and true. Character is in turn the enduring source of virtue. It stands by itself and excites admiration in others.
Racial prejudices are indication of a disturbed and potentially unstable society.