SUPERSTITION QUOTES III
quotations about superstition
Take theology from the world, and the money wasted on superstition will do away with want.
ROBERT G. INGERSOLL
Six Interviews with Robert G. Ingersoll on Six Sermons by the Rev. T. De Witt Talmage
Men are probably nearer the essential truth in their superstitions than in their science.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU
Journal, June 27, 1852
In doing practically only the things which He testifies He cares nothing about, superstition neglects those which He has ordained and said are pleasing to Him or even openly rejects them. Therefore those who (in order to worship God) establish religions which have their source in their own minds, only worship their own dreams.
JOHN CALVIN
Institutes of the Christian Religion
You will search the world over and not find a nonsuperstitious community. As long as there is ignorance, there will be adherence to superstition. Dispelling ignorance is the only solution. That is why I teach.
IRVIN D. YALOM
The Spinoza Problem
Superstitions are usually born from uncertainty of the future and a lack of control. It is easier to blame problems on an outside force than to deal with them head on.
ANNDREA OURS
"Black cats and superstition", The West Georgian, October 28, 2016
The funny thing about superstitions is that the nonsense ones are perfectly reasonable if they're YOUR superstitions, it's everybody else's that are ridiculous.
FLAVIA BERTOLINI
"Don't do that, it's bad luck! There are a lot of superstitions out there, and some of them are really quite peculiar", Mirror, April 30, 2017
Since man cannot live without miracles, he will provide himself with miracles of his own making. He will believe in witchcraft and sorcery, even though he may otherwise be a heretic, an atheist, and a rebel.
FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY
The Brothers Karamazov
The man who believes that the secrets of the world are forever hidden lives in mystery and fear. Superstition will drag him down. The rain will erode the deeds of his life. But that man who sets himself the task of singling out the thread of order from the tapestry will by the decision alone have taken charge of the world and it is only by such taking charge that he will effect a way to dictate the terms of his own fate.
CORMAC MCCARTHY
Blood Meridian
Aren't we supposed to free ourselves from lies and superstition? Isn't that the obligation of intelligent beings?
ANNE RICE
The Wolves of Midwinter
When you believe in things that you don't understand then you suffer? Superstition ain't the way!
STEVIE WONDER
"Superstition", Talking Book
The beginning of superstition was the subtlety of Satan; the beginning of true religion, the service of God.
GENNADIUS
attributed, Day's Collacon
Such people as can be prevailed upon to believe that their reason is depraved, may easily be led by the nose, and duped into superstition at the pleasure of those in whom they confide, and there remain from generation to generation: for when they throw by the law of reason the only one which God gave them to direct them in their speculations and duty, they are exposed to ignorant or insidious teachers, and also to their own irregular passions, and to the folly and enthusiasm of those about them, which nothing but reason can prevent or restrain.
ETHAN ALLEN
Reason: The Only Oracle of Man
I am so superstitious that if I had arrived when there was no sunshine I should have been wretched and most anxious until after my first performance. It is a perfect torture to be superstitious to this degree, and, unfortunately for me, I am ten times more so now than I was in those days, for besides the superstitions of my own country, I have, thanks to my travels, added to my stock all the superstitions of other countries. I know them all now, and in any critical moment of my life, they all rise up in armed legions for or against me. I cannot walk a single step or make any movement or gesture, sit down, go out, look at the sky or ground, without feeling some reason for hope or despair, until at last, exasperated by the trammels put upon my actions by my thought, I defy all superstitions and just act as I want to act.
SARAH BERNHARDT
My Double Life
For a set of supposedly irrational beliefs, superstitions have a surprisingly large following.
JULIANA LABIANCA
"Why Do You Believe in Superstitions? Here's What the Science Says", Reader's Digest, December 29, 2016
Although superstitions might seem like holdovers from a different era, plenty of people believe in them today. According to a Gallup poll, nearly a quarter of Americans admitted to being somewhat superstitious, particularly when it came to traditions like knocking on wood and walking under a ladder. Following these traditions doesn't make you irrational; they're simply part of a culture that gets passed down through the generations. Besides, if there's anything universally beloved by humanity, it's coming up with rituals.
CLAIRE WARNER
"The Origins Of These Common Superstitions Are Absolutely Fascinating", Bustle, January 13, 2017
might be superstition but some kind of somethin'
goin' on down there
it might be superstition but some kind of somethin'
goin' on down there
it's an old time tradition when they play their
drums at night in Congo Square
SONNY LANDRETH
"Congo Square Lyrics"
Once people begin to understand the right relation of things and the real cause of phenomenon, they cease to be superstitious.
BARSHA NAG BHOWMICK
"Black cat, bad luck: Really how superstitious are you?", Times of India, May 22, 2017
Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will penetrate its deepest mysteries.
CARL SAGAN
Cosmos
With their backs to the sunrise they worship the night.
ROBERT G. INGERSOLL
The Gods and Other Lectures
The world's hope is centered on men devoid of superstition.
ABNER KNEELAND
attributed, Day's Collacon