Quote#Speech
No word in our language — not even "Socialism"— has been employed…
Quote byWilliam Ralph Inge · 1860–1954
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Christian Mysticism (1899), Preface.
English (original)
No word in our language — not even "Socialism"— has been employed more loosely than "Mysticism." … The history of the word begins in close connexion with the Greek mysteries. A mystic is one who has been, or is being, initiated into some esoteric knowledge of Divine things, about which he must keep his mouth shut…
— William Ralph Inge
More from William Ralph Inge
Patriotism varies, from a noble devotion to a moral lunacy.
It is becoming impossible for those who mix at all with their fellow-men to believe that the grace of God is distributed denominationally.
The old civilisation, with all the brilliant qualities which make many moderns regret its destruction, rested on too narrow a base. The woman and the slave were left out, the woman especially by the Greeks, and the slave by the Romans.
The phase of thought or feeling which we call Mysticism has its origin in that which is the raw material of all religion, and perhaps of all philosophy and art as well, namely, that dim consciousness of the beyond, which is part of our …
True contemplation considers Reality (or Being) in its manifestations as well as in its origin. If this is remembered, there need be no conflict between social morality and the inner life.
It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favour of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion.