--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is impious, says the modern European…" description: "\"“It is impious, says the modern European superstition, to put a period to our own life, and thereby rebel against our creator: and why not impious, say..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/david-hume-538_mind-and-body_it-is-impious-says-the-modern-european-s_1704293.jpg" --- # It is impious, says the modern European superstition, to… ![“It is impious, says the modern European superstition, to put a period to our own life, and thereby rebel against our creator: and why not impious, say I, to build houses, cultivate the ground, or sail upon the ocean? In all these actions we employ our powers of mind and body to produce some…” quote by David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/david-hume-538_mind-and-body_it-is-impious-says-the-modern-european-s_1704293.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/david-hume-538_mind-and-body_it-is-impious-says-the-modern-european-s_1704293.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/david-hume-538_mind-and-body_it-is-impious-says-the-modern-european-s_1704293.jpg) > ““It is impious, says the modern European superstition, to put a period to our own life, and thereby rebel against our creator: and why not impious, say I, to build houses, cultivate the ground, or sail upon the ocean? In all these actions we employ our powers of mind and body to produce some innovation in the course of nature; and in non of them do we any more. They are all of them therefore equally innocent, or equally criminal.”” [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human creativity and daily tasks are neutral; labeling them as sacred or profane is arbitrary. **In simple terms:** Every action is morally neutral. Key Takeaway Judge actions by impact, not labels. Themes morality creativity human agency Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - art creation - building houses - farming - sailing Key Concepts philosophy ethics existentialism Questions to Reflect On - Do we over‑spiritualize some tasks? - Can all work be seen as innocent? A Different Perspective Moral judgments can be culturally biased. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mind and body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-and-body/) [Superstition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstition/) ## Related quotes > ['Tis impious in a good man to be sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/tis-impious-in-a-good-man-to-be-sad/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [“When Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning-rod, the clergy, both in England and America, with the enthusiastic support of George III, condemned it as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/when-benjamin-franklin-invented-the-lightning-rod-the-clergy-both-in-2/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Those who wish to seek out the cause of miracles, and to understand the things of nature as philosophers, and not to stare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-wish-to-seek-out-the-cause-of-miracles-and-to-understand-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['T is impious in a good man to be sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/t-is-impious-in-a-good-man-to-be-sad/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Weakness, fear, melancholy, together with ignorance, are the true sources of superstition. Hope, pride, presumption, a warm indignation, together with ignorance, are the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/weakness-fear-melancholy-together-with-ignorance-are-the-true-sources/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“Nay, if we should suppose, what never happens, that a popular religion were found, in which it was expressly declared, that nothing but morality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/nay-if-we-should-suppose-what-never-happens-that-a-popular-religion/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Superstition is an enemy to civil liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/superstition-is-an-enemy-to-civil-liberty/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“What age or period of life is the most addicted to superstition? The weakest and most timid. What sex? The same answer must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/what-age-or-period-of-life-is-the-most-addicted-to-superstition-the/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“So that, upon the whole, we may conclude, that the Christian Religion not only was at first attended with miracles, but even at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/so-that-upon-the-whole-we-may-conclude-that-the-christian-religion/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“Man, it is true, can, by combination, surmount all his real enemies, and become master of the whole animal creation: but does he not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/man-it-is-true-can-by-combination-surmount-all-his-real-enemies-and/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The body and mind are continually changing, and are, in fact, only names of series of changeful phenomena, like rivers whose waters are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-body-and-mind-are-continually-changing-and-are-in-fact-only-names/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I believe that a healthy lifestyle isn't just a regular exercise routine or your eating habits, but a synergy of a healthy mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theo-rossi/i-believe-that-a-healthy-lifestyle-isn-t-just-a-regular-exercise/) [Theo Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theo-rossi/) > [“The first language humans had was gestures. There was nothing primitive about this language that flowed from people’s hands, nothing we say now that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-first-language-humans-had-was-gestures-there-was-nothing/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“For example, the sound of the telephone can make us irritated and anxious. That is the sound of the telephone which comes as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/for-example-the-sound-of-the-telephone-can-make-us-irritated-and/) [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) ## More by David Hume > [“Beauty in things exists in the mind that contemplates them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-in-things-exists-in-the-mind-that-contemplates-them/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“It is impossible for us to think of any thing, which we have not antecedently felt, either by our external or internal senses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impossible-for-us-to-think-of-any-thing-which-we-have-not/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [All morality depends upon our sentiments; and when any action or quality of the mind pleases us after a certain manner we say it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/all-morality-depends-upon-our-sentiments-and-when-any-action-or/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [...virtue is attended by more peace of mind than vice, and meets with a more favourable reception from the world. I am sensible, that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/virtue-is-attended-by-more-peace-of-mind-than-vice-and-meets-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/that-the-sun-will-not-rise-tomorrow-is-no-less-intelligible-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [We may conclude, therefore, that, in order to establish laws for the regulation of property, we must be acquainted with the nature and situation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-conclude-therefore-that-in-order-to-establish-laws-for-the/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The observation of human blindness and weakness is the result of all philosophy, and meets us at every turn, in spite of our endeavours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-observation-of-human-blindness-and-weakness-is-the-result-of-all/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The religious hypothesis, therefore, must be considered only as a particular method of accounting for the visible phenomena of the universe: but no just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-religious-hypothesis-therefore-must-be-considered-only-as-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Manufacturers...gradually shift their places, leaving those countries and provinces which they have already enriched, and flying to others, whether they are allured by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/manufacturers-gradually-shift-their-places-leaving-those-countries/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [We may observe that, in displaying the praises of any humane, beneficent man, there is one circumstance which never fails to be amply insisted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-praises-of-any-humane/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“The most perfect happiness, surely, must arise from the contemplation of the most perfect object.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-most-perfect-happiness-surely-must-arise-from-the-contemplation/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“They all make up new species of crime and bring unhappiness in their train. When I hear a man is religious , I conclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/they-all-make-up-new-species-of-crime-and-bring-unhappiness-in-their/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [There is not to be found, in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-not-to-be-found-in-all-history-any-miracle-attested-by-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“But though there be naturally a wide difference in point of delicacy between one person and another, nothing tends further to encrease and improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/but-though-there-be-naturally-a-wide-difference-in-point-of-delicacy/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) [Explore all 487 David Hume quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More Impious quotes > ['T is impious in a good man to be sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/t-is-impious-in-a-good-man-to-be-sad/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Those who wish to seek out the cause of miracles, and to understand the things of nature as philosophers, and not to stare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-wish-to-seek-out-the-cause-of-miracles-and-to-understand-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning-rod, the clergy, both in England and America, with the enthusiastic support of George III, condemned it as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/when-benjamin-franklin-invented-the-lightning-rod-the-clergy-both-in-2/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > ['Tis impious in a good man to be sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/tis-impious-in-a-good-man-to-be-sad/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) Browse all 5 Impious quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is impious, says the modern European superstition, to put a period to our own life, and thereby rebel against our creator: and why not impious, say I, to build houses, cultivate the ground, or sail upon the ocean? In all these actions we employ our powers of mind and body to produce some innovation in the course of nature; and in non of them do we any more. They are all of them therefore equally innocent, or equally criminal.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Hume" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impious-says-the-modern-european-superstition-to-put-a-period/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Impious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impious-says-the-modern-european-superstition-to-put-a-period/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/david-hume-538_mind-and-body_it-is-impious-says-the-modern-european-s_1704293.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/david-hume-538_mind-and-body_it-is-impious-says-the-modern-european-s_1704293.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/david-hume-538_mind-and-body_it-is-impious-says-the-modern-european-s_1704293.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is impious, says the modern European superstition, to put a period to our own life, and thereby rebel…” — David Hume", "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": "David Hume", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is impious, says the modern...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impious-says-the-modern-european-superstition-to-put-a-period/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impious-says-the-modern-european-superstition-to-put-a-period/#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 } } ] } ```