--- 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/24a/george-santayana-478_ambition_christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-bur_135017.png" --- # 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... Man, far from being freed from his natural passions, was plunged into artificial ones quite as violent and much more disappointing.” quote by George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/george-santayana-478_ambition_christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-bur_135017.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/george-santayana-478_ambition_christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-bur_135017.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/george-santayana-478_ambition_christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-bur_135017.png) > “Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a hound it tracked the very scent of heresy. It kindled wars, and nursed furious hatreds and ambitions... Man, far from being freed from his natural passions, was plunged into artificial ones quite as violent and much more disappointing.” [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 argues that suppressing natural passions leads to artificial, often more violent, desires, suggesting that true freedom comes from acknowledging rather than denying innate drives. **In simple terms:** Suppressing natural urges creates worse artificial ones. Key Takeaway Embrace and understand natural passions. Themes psychology philosophy human nature Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - moral education - mental health - spiritual growth Key Concepts repression artificial desire violence Questions to Reflect On - How can societies channel natural passions constructively? - What are the risks of labeling desires as 'unnatural'? A Different Perspective Denial can intensify conflict and disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Being free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-free/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Heresy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heresy/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## 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-2/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [God washes the eyes by tears until they can behold the invisible land where tears shall come no more. O love! O affliction! ye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/god-washes-the-eyes-by-tears-until-they-can-behold-the-invisible-land/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [A hound will die for you, but never lie to you. And he'll look you straight in the face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-hound-will-die-for-you-but-never-lie-to-you-and-he-ll-look-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Bulldogs are adorable, with faces like toads that have been sat on. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind; So flew'd, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/bulldogs-are-adorable-with-faces-like-toads-that-have-been-sat-on-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A good photograph is like a good hound dog, dumb, but eloquent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-atget/a-good-photograph-is-like-a-good-hound-dog-dumb-but-eloquent/) Eugene Atget > [The hounds all join in glorious cry, / The huntsman winds his horn: / And a-hunting we will go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/the-hounds-all-join-in-glorious-cry-the-huntsman-winds-his-horn-and-a/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [“Oberon "Did Middle English hounds bark with an extra syllable on the end? like 'woofe'?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/oberon-did-middle-english-hounds-bark-with-an-extra-syllable-on-the/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [The camera hound of the future wears on his forehead a lump a little larger than a walnut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vannevar-bush/the-camera-hound-of-the-future-wears-on-his-forehead-a-lump-a-little/) [Vannevar Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vannevar-bush/) > [The women that I picked spoke sweet and low And yet gave tongue. "Hound voices" were they all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/the-women-that-i-picked-spoke-sweet-and-low-and-yet-gave-tongue-hound/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“There ain't no harm in a hound, nohow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-ain-t-no-harm-in-a-hound-nohow/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [We don't need women. There are plenty other things in the world to have sex with, just go to a sexaholics meeting and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-don-t-need-women-there-are-plenty-other-things-in-the-world-to/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [You need to know that going in, and you also need to be able to write all the time. So when somebody looks at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ben-garant/you-need-to-know-that-going-in-and-you-also-need-to-be-able-to-write/) [Robert Ben Garant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ben-garant/) > [Some people call me a publicity hound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-arpaio/some-people-call-me-a-publicity-hound/) [Joe Arpaio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-arpaio/) > [“Basset Hounds never get scared. We’re fearless, resolute and know how to season a good lamb chop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-zapple/basset-hounds-never-get-scared-we-re-fearless-resolute-and-know-how/) Elias Zapple > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## 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. 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