--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know not how I contrived to get the…" description: "\"“I know not how I contrived to get the subject of immortality introduced. He said he never had entertained any belief in religion since he began to rea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/christopher-hitchens-117_character_i-know-not-how-i-contrived-to-get-the-su_1043321.jpg" --- # I know not how I contrived to get the subject of… ![“I know not how I contrived to get the subject of immortality introduced. He said he never had entertained any belief in religion since he began to read Locke and Clarke. I asked him if he was not religious when he was young. He said he was, and he used to read The Whole Duty of Man; that he made…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/christopher-hitchens-117_character_i-know-not-how-i-contrived-to-get-the-su_1043321.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/christopher-hitchens-117_character_i-know-not-how-i-contrived-to-get-the-su_1043321.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/christopher-hitchens-117_character_i-know-not-how-i-contrived-to-get-the-su_1043321.jpg) > ““I know not how I contrived to get the subject of immortality introduced. He said he never had entertained any belief in religion since he began to read Locke and Clarke. I asked him if he was not religious when he was young. He said he was, and he used to read The Whole Duty of Man; that he made an abstract from the catalogue of vices at the end of it, and examined himself by this, leaving out murder and theft and such vices as he had no chance of committing, having no inclination to commit them. This, he said, was strange work; for instance, to try if, notwithstanding his excelling his schoolfellows, he had no pride or vanity. He smiled in ridicule of this as absurd and contrary to fixed principles and necessary consequences, not adverting that religious discipline does not mean to extinguish, but to moderate, the passions; and certainly an excess of pride or vanity is dangerous and generally hurtful. He then said flatly that the morality of every religion was bad, and, I really thought, was not jocular when he said that when he heard a man was religious, he concluded he was a rascal, though he had known some instances of very good men being religious. This was just an extravagant reverse of the common remark as to infidels.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques religious morality, arguing that religious discipline moderates passions but can also foster pride, vanity, and hypocrisy, and that morality can exist without religion. **In simple terms:** Religion’s moral claims are flawed. Key Takeaway Question secular ethics. Themes critique morality religion Mood skeptical analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - debate on ethics - personal moral code - public policy - education curricula Key Concepts ethical philosophy humanism Questions to Reflect On - Can morality be fully secular? - What are the limits of religious discipline? A Different Perspective Overgeneralizing all religious individuals as immoral. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality/) [Immortality Introduced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality-introduced-2451903/) [Man Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-religious-444330/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious Concluded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-concluded-2451905/) [Subject Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-immortality-2451904/) ## Related quotes > [“In the purest landscape, the human subject is the immortality of the soul by the faithfulness of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/in-the-purest-landscape-the-human-subject-is-the-immortality-of-the/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [The test of a man’s religious life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-test-of-a-man-s-religious-life-and-character-is-not-what-he-does/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Man is the religious animal. He is the only one that's got true religion, several of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-holbrook/man-is-the-religious-animal-he-is-the-only-one-that-s-got-true/) [Hal Holbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-holbrook/) > [If belief in the miraculous revelation of the Old Testament and the New is required to make a man religious, then Franklin had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/if-belief-in-the-miraculous-revelation-of-the-old-testament-and-the/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Nature is man's religious book, with lessons for every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/nature-is-man-s-religious-book-with-lessons-for-every-day/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [When I hear that a man is religious, I conclude he is a rascal!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/when-i-hear-that-a-man-is-religious-i-conclude-he-is-a-rascal/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion - several of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-is-a-religious-animal-he-is-the-only-religious-animal-he-is-the-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion--several of them. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-is-a-religious-animal-he-is-the-only-religious-animal-he-is-the-2/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I can only regard with bewilderment an educated man who is also religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-can-only-regard-with-bewilderment-an-educated-man-who-is-also/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“They all make up new species of crime and bring unhappiness in their train. 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He said he never had entertained any belief in religion since he began to read Locke and Clarke. I asked him if he was not religious when he was young. He said he was, and he used to read The Whole Duty of Man; that he made an abstract from the catalogue of vices at the end of it, and examined himself by this, leaving out murder and theft and such vices as he had no chance of committing, having no inclination to commit them. This, he said, was strange work; for instance, to try if, notwithstanding his excelling his schoolfellows, he had no pride or vanity. He smiled in ridicule of this as absurd and contrary to fixed principles and necessary consequences, not adverting that religious discipline does not mean to extinguish, but to moderate, the passions; and certainly an excess of pride or vanity is dangerous and generally hurtful. 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