But if it not be true, the myth itself requires to be explained, and every principle of philosophy and common sense demand that the explanation be sought, not in arbitrary allegorical categories, but in the actual facts of ritual or religious custom to which the myth attaches.

The myths connected with individual sanctuaries and ceremonies were merely part of the apparatus of the worship; they served to excite the fancy and sustain the interest of the worshipper... no one cared what he believed about its origin.

This being so, it follows that mythology ought not to take the prominent place that is too often assigned to it in the scientific study of ancient faiths.

The god can no more exist without his people than the nation without its god.

I'd be pretty saddened to hear anyone say, 'Yeah, listen to this... God, I'm awesome, the way this all sits together,' about their own work.

Religious people... hold a kind and merciful view of life, the faith of the broken, the hounded, the hopeless. Yet too often, they will not extend that spirit to our fellow creatures.

Ah, mon cher, for anyone who is alone, without God and without a master, the weight of days is dreadful.

Inaugurals conventionally start with a history lesson and finish with a prayer.