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Quote by Ben Jonson

Work

The Selected Plays of Ben Jonson: Volume 1: Sejanus, Volpone, Epicoene Or the Silent Woman

The Selected Plays of Ben Jonson: Volume 1 is a compilation of three significant works by the renowned Elizabethan playwright. 'Sejanus' is a tragedy that explores themes of ambition and betrayal. 'Volpone' is a satirical comedy that satirizes greed and the pursuit of wealth. 'Epicoene Or the Silent Woman' is a tragicomedy that delves into themes of love, deception, and social status. These plays are renowned for their wit, complexity, and contribution to the English theater. more

Author

Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson

Ben Jonson, a renowned English playwright and poet, was born on June 11, 1572, and died on August 6, 1637. His works have had a profound impact on the development of drama, and he is considered one of the greatest English playwrights, second only to Shakespeare. more

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“It had been boldly predicted by some of the early Christians that the conversion of the world would lead to the establishment of perpetual peace. In looking back, with our present experience, we are driven to the melancholy conclusion that, instead of diminishing the number of wars, ecclesiastical influence has actually and very seriously increased it.”

“Barbarity, caprice; these qualities, however nominally disguised, we may universally observe from the ruling character of the deity in all regular religions.”

“Seven hundred thousand men are said to have perished in the first two expeditions, which had been thus commenced and carried on by the pious zeal of the Christian church, and in the total amount, several million were found numbered with the dead: the awful effects of religious fanaticism presuming upon the aid of heaven.”

“It is in the name of Jesus, himself become God, that fanaticism ignominiously condemned to the stake men like Giodano Bruno, Vanini, Étienne Dolet, John Huss, Savanarola, and numerous other heroic victims; that the Inquisition ordered Galileo to belie his conscience; that thousands and thousands of unfortunates accused of witchcraft were burnt alive in popular ceremonies; it was with the express benediction of Pope Gregory XIII that the butchery of St. Bartholomew drenched Paris in blood.”

“Who can estimate the misery that has been caused by this infamous doctrine of eternal punishment? Think of the lives it has blighted-of the tears it has caused-of the agony it has produced. Think of the millions who have been driven to insanity by this most terrible of dogmas. This doctrine renters God the basest and most cruel being in the universe. ... There is nothing more degrading than to worship such a god.”