“Morton came up out of the depths of his chair. ‘And what about this basic human characteristic, of which religion is merely an outward expression ?’ The stranger made a gesture. ‘Silkey, exhibiting freaks, was really exhibiting himself. Religion is self-dramatization before a god. Self-love, narcissism — in our own little way we show ourselves off . . . and so a strange being could come into our midst unsuspected.” ReligionHuman Nature Book:The Far-Out Worlds of A. E. van Vogt Source: The Far-Out Worlds of A. E. van Vogt