If Christianity were true religious persecution would become a pious and charitable duty: if God designs to punish men for their opinions it would be… - William Winwood Reade

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If Christianity were true religious persecution would become a pious and charitable duty: if God designs to punish men for their opinions it would be an act of mercy to mankind to extinguish such opinions. By burning the bodies of those who diffuse them many souls would be saved that would otherwise be lost, and so there would be an economy of torment in the long run. It is therefore not surprising that enthusiasts should be intolerant.

English
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About William Winwood Reade

William Winwood Reade (December 26, 1838 – April 24, 1875) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, anthropologist and explorer born in Perthshire, Scotland. His best-known book, The Martyrdom of Man, was a controversial freethinking study of world history.

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Alternative Names: William Reade

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Additional quotes by William Winwood Reade

Industry is the only true source of wealth, and there was no industry in Rome. By day the Ostia road was crowded with carts and muleteers, carrying to the great city the silks and spices of the East, the marble of Asia Minor, the timber of the Atlas, the grain of Africa and Egypt; and the carts brought nothing out but loads of dung. That was their return cargo. London turns dirt into gold. Rome turned gold into dirt.

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As for the system of the Commune, which makes it impossible for a man to rise or fall, it is merely the old caste system revived; if it could be put into force, all industry would be disheartened, emulation would cease, and mankind would go to sleep.

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