---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Consoler of our misery, religion is at…"
description: "\"“Consoler of our misery, religion is at the same time the most natural of our emotions. Unknown to us, all our physical sensations, all our moral feeli..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/benjamin-constant-28179_immensity_consoler-of-our-misery-religion-is-at-th_1939413.png"
---

#  Consoler of our misery, religion is at the same time the…

![“Consoler of our misery, religion is at the same time the most natural of our emotions. Unknown to us, all our physical sensations, all our moral feelings, awake it in our hearts. All that appears to us without limits, and that generates the notion of immensity - the sight of the sky, the silence…” quote by Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/benjamin-constant-28179_immensity_consoler-of-our-misery-religion-is-at-th_1939413.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/benjamin-constant-28179_immensity_consoler-of-our-misery-religion-is-at-th_1939413.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/benjamin-constant-28179_immensity_consoler-of-our-misery-religion-is-at-th_1939413.png)

> ““Consoler of our misery, religion is at the same time the most natural of our emotions. Unknown to us, all our physical sensations, all our moral feelings, awake it in our hearts. All that appears to us without limits, and that generates the notion of immensity - the sight of the sky, the silence of the night, the vast extent of the seas- all that leads us to tenderness or to enthusiasm - the consciousness of a virtuous action, of a generous sacrifice, of a danger bravely confronted, of the pain of another aided or comforted - all that stirs up in the depths our soul the primitive elements of our nature - the contempt for vice, the hatred of tyranny - feed our religious feeling. This feeling is intimately connected with all the noble, delicate and deep passions. Kike all these passions, it has something mysterious about it: for common reason cannot satisfactorily explain any of these passions.””

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Religion arises from deep human emotions, linking natural feelings to moral and awe‑inspiring experiences, creating a sense of immensity and noble passions.

**In simple terms:** Religion is tied to our deepest emotions and awe.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how emotions shape belief.

Themes

religion emotion morality awe human nature

Mood

contemplative serene thoughtful

Type

philosophical reflective inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- public discourse
- interfaith dialogue
- ethical decision making

Key Concepts

spirituality psychology philosophy anthropology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do emotions influence your spiritual views?
- Can awe be experienced without religious belief?

A Different Perspective

Religion may also be used to justify oppression or conflict.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Consciousness Virtuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-virtuous-3081040/) [Immensity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immensity/) [Moral Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-feelings-1807716/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-feeling/) [Sensations Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensations-moral-3081039/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [“Evolution, therefore, cannot account for the origin of our moral feelings, let alone for the fact that we all believe there are external moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-j-keller/evolution-therefore-cannot-account-for-the-origin-of-our-moral/)

[Timothy J. Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-j-keller/)

> [Mr. J.S. Mill speaks, in his celebrated work, "Utilitarianism," of the social feelings as a "powerful natural sentiment," and as "the natural basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/mr-j-s-mill-speaks-in-his-celebrated-work-utilitarianism-of-the/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

> [“The serial killer Gary Gilmore summed up the attitude of someone without moral feelings: “I was always capable of murder.… I can become totally devoid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/the-serial-killer-gary-gilmore-summed-up-the-attitude-of-someone/)

[Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/)

> [The strongest feelings assigned to the conscience are not moral feelings at all; they express merely physical antipathies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-strongest-feelings-assigned-to-the-conscience-are-not-moral/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [“You have no compelling moral intuitions to guide you in solving that problem. Your moral feelings are attached to frames, to descriptions of reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/you-have-no-compelling-moral-intuitions-to-guide-you-in-solving-that/)

[Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/)

> [In the metaphysical elements of aesthetics the various nonmoral feelings are to be made use of; in the elements of moral metaphysics the various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/in-the-metaphysical-elements-of-aesthetics-the-various-nonmoral/)

[Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/)

> [The subjectivist in morals, when his moral feelings are at war with the facts about him, is always free to seek harmony by toningdown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-subjectivist-in-morals-when-his-moral-feelings-are-at-war-with/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/if-we-cannot-have-moral-feelings-against-homosexuality-can-we-have-it/)

[Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/)

> [“Your moral feelings are attached to frames, to descriptions of reality rather than to reality itself. The message about the nature of framing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/your-moral-feelings-are-attached-to-frames-to-descriptions-of-reality/)

[Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/)

> [“Kant finds that the ‘virtue of the heart’ is central and emphasizes the role of the understanding and concepts at the expense of inclinations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manfred-kuehn/kant-finds-that-the-virtue-of-the-heart-is-central-and-emphasizes-the/)

[Manfred Kuehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manfred-kuehn/)

> [If we look at the works of JS Bach ... on each page we discover things which we thought were born only yesterday, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-debussy/if-we-look-at-the-works-of-js-bach-on-each-page-we-discover-things/)

[Claude Debussy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-debussy/)

> [“...there is no deeper religious feeling than the feeling for the natural world. I wouldn't separate the world of nature from the religious instinct...I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/there-is-no-deeper-religious-feeling-than-the-feeling-for-the-natural/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [Science gave me a cosmic religious feeling, and I would get the same feeling when I was dragged to the Met and the Museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/science-gave-me-a-cosmic-religious-feeling-and-i-would-get-the-same/)

[Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/)

> [“religious feeling; but in Miss Brooke's case, religion alone would have determined it; and Celia mildly acquiesced in all her sister's sentiments, only infusing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/religious-feeling-but-in-miss-brooke-s-case-religion-alone-would-have/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [“In my view, it is the most important function of art and science to awaken this religious feeling and keep it alive in those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/in-my-view-it-is-the-most-important-function-of-art-and-science-to/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

## More by Benjamin Constant

> [There are things one does not say for a long time, but, once they are said, one never stops repeating them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/there-are-things-one-does-not-say-for-a-long-time-but-once-they-are/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [“Woe to the man who in the first moments of a love-affair does not believe that it will last forever! Woe to him who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/woe-to-the-man-who-in-the-first-moments-of-a-love-affair-does-not/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [The people who, in order to enjoy the liberty which suites them, resort to the representative system, must exercise an active and constant surveillance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/the-people-who-in-order-to-enjoy-the-liberty-which-suites-them-resort/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [“There is indeed in the contemplation of beauty of any kind, something which detaches us from ourselves by making us feel that perfection is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/there-is-indeed-in-the-contemplation-of-beauty-of-any-kind-something/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [The great question in life is the suffering we cause, and the most ingenious metaphysics do not justify the man who has broken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/the-great-question-in-life-is-the-suffering-we-cause-and-the-most/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [Art for art's sake, with no purpose, for any purpose perverts art. But art achieves a purpose which is not its own. (1804)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/art-for-art-s-sake-with-no-purpose-for-any-purpose-perverts-art-but/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [“I detest that fatuity of mind which believes that what is explained is also excused; I hate that vanity which finds it interesting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/i-detest-that-fatuity-of-mind-which-believes-that-what-is-explained/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [“Nearly always, so as to live at peace with ourselves, we disguise our own impotence and weakness as calculation and policy; it is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/nearly-always-so-as-to-live-at-peace-with-ourselves-we-disguise-our/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [“We are such volatile creatures, we finally feel sentiments we feign”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/we-are-such-volatile-creatures-we-finally-feel-sentiments-we-feign/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [No duty, however, binds us to these so-called laws, whose corrupting influence menaces what is noblest in our being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/no-duty-however-binds-us-to-these-so-called-laws-whose-corrupting/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [“How would you define the impression of a dark night, of an ancient forest, of the wind moaning through ruins or over graves, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/how-would-you-define-the-impression-of-a-dark-night-of-an-ancient/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [Every time government attempts to handle our affairs, it costs more and the results are worse than if we had handled them ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/every-time-government-attempts-to-handle-our-affairs-it-costs-more/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [There is a bizarre notion according to which it is claimed that because men are corrupt, it is necessary to give certain of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/there-is-a-bizarre-notion-according-to-which-it-is-claimed-that/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [“Le lingue straniere ringiovaniscono i pensieri.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/le-lingue-straniere-ringiovaniscono-i-pensieri/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

> [“It is true that love is a feeling one places, whenever one feels the need of placing it, on the first object that happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/it-is-true-that-love-is-a-feeling-one-places-whenever-one-feels-the/)

[Benjamin Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

[Explore all 16 Benjamin Constant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/)

## More Immensity quotes

> [When I think of God's Kingdom, I am compelled to be silent because of its immensity, because God's Kingdom is none other than God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/when-i-think-of-god-s-kingdom-i-am-compelled-to-be-silent-because-of/)

[Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/)

> [“Have you ever plunged into the immensity of space and time by reading the geological treatises of Cuvier? Borne away on the wings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/have-you-ever-plunged-into-the-immensity-of-space-and-time-by-reading/)

[Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [At a time when it's possible for thirty people to stand on the top of Everest in one day, Antarctica still remains a remote,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/at-a-time-when-it-s-possible-for-thirty-people-to-stand-on-the-top-of/)

[David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/)

> [What was more needed by this old man who divided the leisure hours of his life, where he had so little leisure, between gardening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/what-was-more-needed-by-this-old-man-who-divided-the-leisure-hours-of/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [What shall I do, singer and first-born, in a world where the deepest black is grey, and inspiration is kept in a thermos? with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-tsvetaeva/what-shall-i-do-singer-and-first-born-in-a-world-where-the-deepest/)

[Marina Tsvetaeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-tsvetaeva/)

> [Geological age plays the same part in our views of the duration of the universe as the Earth's orbital radius does in our views…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-joly/geological-age-plays-the-same-part-in-our-views-of-the-duration-of/)

[John Joly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-joly/)

> [I'm happiest when most away I can bear my soul from its home of clay On a windy night when the moon is bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-m-happiest-when-most-away-i-can-bear-my-soul-from-its-home-of-clay/)

[Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/)

> [It is only through the confining act of writing that the immensity of the nonwritten becomes legible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/it-is-only-through-the-confining-act-of-writing-that-the-immensity-of/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [Mount Shasta - a vision of immensity such as pertains to the vast universe rather than to our own planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dwight-dana/mount-shasta-a-vision-of-immensity-such-as-pertains-to-the-vast/)

[James Dwight Dana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dwight-dana/)

> [It is no longer possible for lyric poetry to express the immensity of our experience. Life has grown too cumbersome, too complicated. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/it-is-no-longer-possible-for-lyric-poetry-to-express-the-immensity-of/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [Sir, if you wish to have a just notion of the magnitude of this city, you must not be satisfied with seeing its great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/sir-if-you-wish-to-have-a-just-notion-of-the-magnitude-of-this-city/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in--what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/a-garden-to-walk-in-and-immensity-to-dream-in-what-more-could-he-ask/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [God is to us like the sky to a small bird, which cannot see its outer limits and cannot reach its distant horizons, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/god-is-to-us-like-the-sky-to-a-small-bird-which-cannot-see-its-outer/)

[John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/)

> [The immensity of the universe didn’t suddenly change, but our ability to see and understand this truth changed dramatically. And with that greater light,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/the-immensity-of-the-universe-didn-t-suddenly-change-but-our-ability/)

[Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/)

> [My heart, the bird of the wilderness, has found its sky in your eyes. They are the cradle of the morning, they are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/my-heart-the-bird-of-the-wilderness-has-found-its-sky-in-your-eyes/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

[Browse all 152 Immensity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immensity/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Consoler of our misery, religion is at the same time the most natural of our emotions. Unknown to us, all our physical sensations, all our moral feelings, awake it in our hearts. All that appears to us without limits, and that generates the notion of immensity - the sight of the sky, the silence of the night, the vast extent of the seas- all that leads us to tenderness or to enthusiasm - the consciousness of a virtuous action, of a generous sacrifice, of a danger bravely confronted, of the pain of another aided or comforted - all that stirs up in the depths our soul the primitive elements of our nature - the contempt for vice, the hatred of tyranny - feed our religious feeling. This feeling is intimately connected with all the noble, delicate and deep passions. Kike all these passions, it has something mysterious about it: for common reason cannot satisfactorily explain any of these passions.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Benjamin Constant"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/consoler-of-our-misery-religion-is-at-the-same-time-the-most-natural/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Immensity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/consoler-of-our-misery-religion-is-at-the-same-time-the-most-natural/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/benjamin-constant-28179_immensity_consoler-of-our-misery-religion-is-at-th_1939413.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/benjamin-constant-28179_immensity_consoler-of-our-misery-religion-is-at-th_1939413.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/benjamin-constant-28179_immensity_consoler-of-our-misery-religion-is-at-th_1939413.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Consoler of our misery, religion is at the same time the most natural of our emotions. Unknown to us, all…” — Benjamin Constant",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Benjamin Constant",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-constant/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Consoler of our misery, religion is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/consoler-of-our-misery-religion-is-at-the-same-time-the-most-natural/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-constant/consoler-of-our-misery-religion-is-at-the-same-time-the-most-natural/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
