--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Christianity persecuted, tortured, and…" description: "\"Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a hound it tracked the very scent of heresy. It kindled wars, and nursed furious hatreds and ambiti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/george-santayana-478_ambition_christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-bur_2179295.jpg" --- # Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a… ![“Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a hound it tracked the very scent of heresy. It kindled wars, and nursed furious hatreds and ambitions. It sanctified, quite like Mohammedism, extermination and tyranny. All this would have been impossible if, like Buddhism, it had looked only…” quote by George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/george-santayana-478_ambition_christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-bur_2179295.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/george-santayana-478_ambition_christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-bur_2179295.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/george-santayana-478_ambition_christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-bur_2179295.jpg) > “Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a hound it tracked the very scent of heresy. It kindled wars, and nursed furious hatreds and ambitions. It sanctified, quite like Mohammedism, extermination and tyranny. All this would have been impossible if, like Buddhism, it had looked only for peace and the liberation of souls. It looked beyond; it dreamt of infinite blisses and crowns it should be crowned with before an electrified universe and an applauding God... Buddhism had tried to quiet a sick world with anesthetics; Christianity sought to purge it with fire.” [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage contrasts Christianity’s militant zeal with Buddhism’s pacifism, suggesting that religious fervor can fuel conflict while peace‑seeking traditions aim to soothe suffering. **In simple terms:** Religion can drive both war and peace. Key Takeaway Consider the impact of belief systems on violence. Themes religion conflict peace philosophy Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - interfaith dialogue - peace education - historical analysis - policy making Key Concepts theodicy spiritualism ethical critique Questions to Reflect On - Can faith be reinterpreted to promote peace? - What role does doctrine play in justifying conflict? A Different Perspective Religious motivations are complex and not solely violent or peaceful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Anesthetics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anesthetics/) [Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Buddhism Looked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism-looked-4700131/) [Buddhism Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism-tried-4700132/) [Burned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burned/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Christianity Persecuted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity-persecuted-1538611/) [Christianity Sought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity-sought-4700133/) [Crowns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowns/) [Extermination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extermination/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Furious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/furious/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Heresy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heresy/) [Hounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hounds/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite/) [Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation/) [Like Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-buddhism-514679/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Persecuted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persecuted/) [Quiet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quiet/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Scent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scent/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Sick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick/) [Sick world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick-world/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a hound it tracked the very scent of heresy. It kindled wars, and nursed furious hatreds and ambitions...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-burned-like-a-hound-it-tracked/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [To you, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism look very different, but to me they look the same. Many of you would say that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/to-you-christianity-judaism-islam-buddhism-and-hinduism-look-very/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [It's interesting to see what's going on with physics these days because they're starting to come out with stuff that sounds remarkably like Buddhism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/it-s-interesting-to-see-what-s-going-on-with-physics-these-days/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [“Westereners often think that the East is one vast Buddhist temple, which is rather like thinking the West is one vast Carthusian monastery. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/westereners-often-think-that-the-east-is-one-vast-buddhist-temple/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [It just seemed like Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism - because that's mainly what I've been exposed to - was a real solid organization of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-yauch/it-just-seemed-like-buddhism-especially-tibetan-buddhism-because-that/) [Adam Yauch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-yauch/) > [We learn by doing, not just by thinking. So I feel like beyond Buddhism, or Hinduism, or Judaism, or Christianity we need today to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/we-learn-by-doing-not-just-by-thinking-so-i-feel-like-beyond-buddhism/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [“In some cultures, like Buddhism, you want things in your life to disappear, to reduce your needs and desires. To achieve some form of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/in-some-cultures-like-buddhism-you-want-things-in-your-life-to/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [It is a curious and painful fact that almost all the completely futile treatments that have been believed in during the long history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/it-is-a-curious-and-painful-fact-that-almost-all-the-completely/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There can be no reasonable right to live on sidewalks. Society needs order, and hence has a right to a minimally civilized ambience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/there-can-be-no-reasonable-right-to-live-on-sidewalks-society-needs/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [If devils exist, their first aim is to give you an anesthetic -- to put you off your guard. Only if that fails, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-devils-exist-their-first-aim-is-to-give-you-an-anesthetic-to-put/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The Church has opposed every innovation and discovery from the day of Galileo down to our own time, when the use of anesthetics in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-church-has-opposed-every-innovation-and-discovery-from-the-day-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Welfare programs as instruments of manipulation ultimately serve the end of conquest. They act as an anesthetic, distracting the oppressed from the true causes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/welfare-programs-as-instruments-of-manipulation-ultimately-serve-the/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [A preacher was operated on for a hernia. As this was about the time of the first world war he was given ether. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-linkletter/a-preacher-was-operated-on-for-a-hernia-as-this-was-about-the-time-of/) [Art Linkletter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-linkletter/) > [Printed prose is historically a most peculiar, almost an aberrant way of telling stories, and by far the most inherently anesthetic: It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/printed-prose-is-historically-a-most-peculiar-almost-an-aberrant-way/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [Why does a man who is truly in love insist that this relationship must continue and be "lifelong"? Because life is pain and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/why-does-a-man-who-is-truly-in-love-insist-that-this-relationship/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) ## More by George Santayana > [Perhaps the universe is nothing but an equilibrium of idiocies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/perhaps-the-universe-is-nothing-but-an-equilibrium-of-idiocies/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The combative instinct is a savage prompting by which one man's good is found in another's evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-combative-instinct-is-a-savage-prompting-by-which-one-man-s-good/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Sanctity and genius are as rebellious as vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/sanctity-and-genius-are-as-rebellious-as-vice/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [To attempt to be religious without practicing a specific religion is as possible as attempting to speak without a specific language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/to-attempt-to-be-religious-without-practicing-a-specific-religion-is/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“The contemporary world has turned its back on the attempt and even on the desire to live reasonably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-contemporary-world-has-turned-its-back-on-the-attempt-and-even-on/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The pride of the artisan in his art and its uses is pride in himself...It is in his skill and ability to make things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-pride-of-the-artisan-in-his-art-and-its-uses-is-pride-in-himself/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [If pain could have cured us we should long ago have been saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/if-pain-could-have-cured-us-we-should-long-ago-have-been-saved/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Towers in a modern town are a frill and a survival; they seem like the raised hands of the various churches, afraid of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/towers-in-a-modern-town-are-a-frill-and-a-survival-they-seem-like-the/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Wealth, religion, military victory have more rhetorical than efficacious worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/wealth-religion-military-victory-have-more-rhetorical-than/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Whoever it was who searched the heavens with a telescope and found no God would not have found the human mind if he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/whoever-it-was-who-searched-the-heavens-with-a-telescope-and-found-no/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [It is easier to make a saint out of a libertine than out of a prig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-is-easier-to-make-a-saint-out-of-a-libertine-than-out-of-a-prig/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Experience is a mere whiff or rumble, produced by enormously complex and ill-deciphered causes of experience; and in the other direction, experience is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/experience-is-a-mere-whiff-or-rumble-produced-by-enormously-complex/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Miracles are propitious accidents, the natural causes of which are too complicated to be readily understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/miracles-are-propitious-accidents-the-natural-causes-of-which-are-too/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Memory itself is an internal rumour; and when to this hearsay within the mind we add the falsified echoes that reach us from others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/memory-itself-is-an-internal-rumour-and-when-to-this-hearsay-within/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Familiarity breeds contempt only when it breeds inattention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/familiarity-breeds-contempt-only-when-it-breeds-inattention/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) [Explore all 530 George Santayana quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a hound it tracked the very scent of heresy. It kindled wars, and nursed furious hatreds and ambitions. It sanctified, quite like Mohammedism, extermination and tyranny. All this would have been impossible if, like Buddhism, it had looked only for peace and the liberation of souls. It looked beyond; it dreamt of infinite blisses and crowns it should be crowned with before an electrified universe and an applauding God... Buddhism had tried to quiet a sick world with anesthetics; Christianity sought to purge it with fire.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Santayana" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-burned-like-a-hound-it-tracked-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-burned-like-a-hound-it-tracked-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/george-santayana-478_ambition_christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-bur_2179295.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/george-santayana-478_ambition_christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-bur_2179295.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/george-santayana-478_ambition_christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-bur_2179295.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a hound it tracked the very scent of heresy. It kindled…” — George Santayana", "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": "George Santayana", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-burned-like-a-hound-it-tracked-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-burned-like-a-hound-it-tracked-2/#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 } } ] } ```