The Dominion of Fear

Dogmatism and Scepticism

[Only] while under the dominion of fear, do men fall … prey to superstition …

— Baruch Spinoza (1632 – 77), Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, 1677.


The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge …

— Proverbs, 1:7, King James Bible, 1611.


Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.

— Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (c 4 BCE – 65 CE) (Disputed).


And in these four things,

• opinion of ghosts,
• ignorance of second causes,
• devotion towards what men fear, and
• taking things casual for prognostics,

consisteth the natural seed of religion …
So easy are men drawn to believe any thing, from such men as have gotten credit with them; and can with gentleness, and dexterity, take hold of their fear, and ignorance.

— Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679), Of Religion, Leviathan, Chapter 12, 1651.


The articles of Christian faith … should be accepted as such.
They cannot be proved by reason; nor can they be basis of knowledge.
Science and theology are essentially different and must not be confused.

— Francesco Landini (c1325 – 97)


That's the thing about faith.
If you don't have it, you can't understand it.
And if you do, no explanation is necessary.

— Accession, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Episode 16, Season 4, 1996.


NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!

Our CHIEF weapon is Surprise …
Surprise and Fear. …

Our TWO weapons are Fear and Surprise …
And Ruthless Efficiency. …

Our THREE weapons are Fear, Surprise, and Ruthless Efficiency …
And An Almost Fanatical Devotion To The Pope. …

Our FOUR …
AMONGST our weaponry are such diverse elements as:

• Fear,
• Surprise,
• Ruthless Efficiency, [AND …]
• An Almost Fanatical Devotion To The Pope …

(Monty Python's Flying Circus, BBC, 22 September, 1970)

Ideology and Fanaticism

Dogmatism and Scepticism

Freedom is obedience to leaders
Virtue is violence
Manhood is domination

— A Woman's Liberation, 1995.


Love of god and country is like fire:

• a wonderful friend,
• a terrible enemy.

Only children play with fire.

— Ursula Le Guin (1929 – 2018), Forgiveness Day, Asimov's Science Fiction, 1994.


Nothing emboldens sin so much as mercy.

— William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616), Timon of Athens, Act 3, Scene 5, 1605-6.


[One] cannot accomplish a great work without doing some evil.

— Leopold Victor (1835 – 1909), King of the Belgians (1865 – 1909)


War … proves

• some to be gods, and
• others to be mere men,

by turning

• the latter into slaves, and
• the former into masters …

— Heraclitus (c535 – c475 BCE)


The power of Marxist-Leninist theory lies in the fact that it enables the Party

• to find the right orientation in any situation,
• to understand the inner connection of current events,
• to foresee their course, and
• to perceive not only
  • how and in what direction they are developing in the present, but
  • how and in what direction they are bound to develop in the future.

— History of the Communist Party, Moscow, 1945.