Joseph Ernest Renan (February 28, 1823-October 12, 1892) was a French philosopher and historian. In 1878, he was elected to the French Academy. He was famous for his Life of Jesus (1863); History of the People of Israel, 5 volumes (1887-1893); and Philosophical Dramas. In La Vie de Jesus, 1863, Renan stated in his introduction concerning Jesus:
<The whole of history is incomprehensible without Him.> 1823JR001 In Les Apotres, 1866, Renan wrote:
<Religion is not a popular error; it is a great instinctive truth, sensed by the people, expressed by the people.> 1823JR002
In 1866, Joseph Ernest Renan exclaimed:
<Let us enjoy the liberty of the sons of God, but let us take care lest we become accomplices in the diminuation of virtue which would menace society if Christianity were to grow weak. What should we do without it?...If Rationalism wishes to govern the world without regard to the religious needs of the soul, the experience of the French Revolution is there to teach us the consequences of such a blunder.> 1823JR003
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1823JR001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Joseph Ernest Renan, 1863, in La Vie de Jesus, introduction. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 593.
1823JR002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Joseph Ernest Renan, 1866, in Les Apotres. John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 593.
1823JR003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Joseph Ernest Renan, 1866. Will and Ariel Durant, The Lessons of History (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968), p. 50. Charles Colson, Kingdoms in Conflict (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1987), p. 229.