William Ralph Inge quotes

William Ralph Inge was an English author, Anglican priest, and professor of divinity, often known as "The Gloomy Dean." His writings explored religion, philosophy, and society, gaining attention for their intellectual depth and sometimes pessimistic outlook. He significantly influenced discussions on spirituality and social issues in early 20th-century Britain. Here are 70 of his quotes:

A nation is a society united by a delusion about its ancestry and by common hatred of its neighbours. (William Ralph Inge)
We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due. View quote
William Ralph Inge
I have never understood why it should be considered derogatory to the Creator to suppose that he has a sense of humour. View quote
William Ralph Inge
It is becoming impossible for those who mix with their fellowmen to believe that the grace of God is distributed denominationally. View quote
William Ralph Inge
When our first parents were driven out of Paradise, Adam is believed to have remarked to Eve My dear, we live in an age of transition. View quote
William Ralph Inge
The happiest people seem to be those who have no particular cause for being happy except that they are so. View quote
William Ralph Inge
It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism, while the wolf remains of a different opinion. View quote
William Ralph Inge
The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values. View quote
William Ralph Inge
The enemies of freedom do not argue; they shout and they shoot. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Events in the past may be roughly divided into those which probably never happened and those which do not matter. (William Ralph Inge)
Civilization is a disease which is almost invariably fatal. View quote
William Ralph Inge
There are two kinds of fools: one says, "This is old, therefore it is good"; the other says, "This is new, therefore it is better." View quote
William Ralph Inge
Patriotism varies, from a noble devotion to a moral lunacy. View quote
William Ralph Inge
The wisdom of the wise is an uncommon degree of common sense. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Nobody is bored when he is trying to make something that is beautiful or to discover something that is true. View quote
William Ralph Inge
To become a popular religion, it is only necessary for a superstition to enslave a philosophy. View quote
William Ralph Inge
There is no law of progress. Our future is in our own hands, to make or to mar. It will be an uphill fight to the end, and would we have it otherwise Let no one suppose that evolution will ever exempt us from struggle. You forget, said the Devil, with a chuckle, that I have been evolving too. View quote
William Ralph Inge
It is astonishing with how little wisdom mankind can be governed, when that little wisdom is its own. View quote
William Ralph Inge
The proper time to influence the character of a child is about a hundred years before he is born. View quote
William Ralph Inge
The soul is dyed with the color of its leisure thoughts. (William Ralph Inge)
I have no fear that the candle lighted in Palestine years ago will ever be put out. View quote
William Ralph Inge
We tolerate shapes in human beings that would horrify us if we saw them in a horse. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Democracy is only an experiment in government, and it has the obvious disadvantage of merely counting votes instead of weighing them. View quote
William Ralph Inge
Bereavement is the deepest initiation into the mysteries of human life, an initiation more searching and profound than even happy love. View quote
William Ralph Inge