“Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation; all which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, though religion were not; but superstition dismounts all these, and erecteth an absolute monarchy in the minds of men. Therefore atheism did never perturb states; for it makes men wary of themselves, as looking no further: and we see the times inclined to atheism (as the time of Augustus Cæsar) were civil times. But superstition hath been the confusion of many states, and bringeth in a new primum mobile, that ravisheth all the spheres of government. The master of superstition is the people; and in all superstition wise men follow fools; and arguments are fitted to practice, in a reversed order.” PhilosophyGovernmentReligionPracticeVirtueWiseAtheismMoralityArgumentConfusionReputationMonarchyPietySuperstitionSenseMasterLawsCivilCaesarAugustus CaesarNatural Piety Author:Francis Bacon
“There is one passage in the Scriptures to which all the potentates of Europe seem to have given their unanimous assent and approbation...."There went out a decree in the days of Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed."” WorldShouldSeemsGivenAtheismEuropePositive AtheismScripturePassagesDecreeAugustusAugustus Caesar Author:Charles Caleb Colton
“He [Caesar Augustus] found a city built of brick; he left it built of marble. [Lat., Urbem lateritiam accepit, mamoream relinquit.]” FoundLeftCitiesBuiltBricksMarbleAugustusAugustus Caesar Author:Suetonius
“Around the time of the Terran Caesar Augustus, a Martian artist had been composing a work of art. It could have been called a poem, a musical opus, or a philosophical treatise; it was a series of emotions arranged in tragic, logical necessity. Since it could be experienced by a human only in the sense in which a man blind from birth might have a sunset explained to him, it does not matter which category it be assigned.” MenHumansDoeHas BeensArtMatterMightArtistEmotionBirthPhilosophicalBlindSeriesMusicalSunsetTragicLogicalWorks Of ArtCategoriesCould Have BeenComposingAugustusMartiansAugustus Caesar Book:Stranger in a Strange Land Source: Stranger in a Strange Land
“There was a young man in Rome that was very like Augustus Caesar; Augustus took knowledge of it and sent for the man, and asked him "Was your mother never at Rome?" He answered "No Sir; but my father was."” MenYoungMotherFatherKnowledgeHe ManMotherhoodYoung ManRomeAugustusAugustus Caesar Book:The works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England Source: The works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England
“Normally, if someone's legacy will outlast their life, it's apparent when they die. On the day when Alexander the Great, or Caesar Augustus, or Napoleon, or Socrates, or Muhammad died, their reputations were immense. When Jesus died, his tiny, failed movement appeared clearly at an end.” IfsEndsDiesJesusMovementDiedTinyReputationLegacyImmenseMuhammadAugustusAugustus Caesar Author:John Ortberg
“Luke [the gospel writer] screws up his dating by tactlessly mentioning events that historians are capable of independently checking. There was indeed a census under Governor Quirinius - a local census, not one decreed by Caesar Augustus for the Empire as a whole - but it happened too late in 6 AD, long after Herod's death.” LongWholeReligionHappenedEventsLateCapableDatingLocalsToo LateEmpiresHistorianAdsGovernorsScrewsLukeScrew UpsAugustusCensusHerodAugustus Caesar Author:Richard Dawkins