--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Proofs are the last thing looked for by a…" description: "\"Proofs are the last thing looked for by a truly religious mind which feels the imaginary fitness of its faith.\" — George Santayana" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/george-santayana-478_christianity_proofs-are-the-last-thing-looked-for-by_2648184.png" --- # Proofs are the last thing looked for by a truly religious… ![“Proofs are the last thing looked for by a truly religious mind which feels the imaginary fitness of its faith.” quote by George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/george-santayana-478_christianity_proofs-are-the-last-thing-looked-for-by_2648184.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/george-santayana-478_christianity_proofs-are-the-last-thing-looked-for-by_2648184.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/george-santayana-478_christianity_proofs-are-the-last-thing-looked-for-by_2648184.png) > “Proofs are the last thing looked for by a truly religious mind which feels the imaginary fitness of its faith.” [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. A truly religious mind does not seek proof, trusting the imagined strength of faith. **In simple terms:** Faith trusts without proof; imagination sustains belief. Key Takeaway Embrace faith beyond evidence. Themes religion faith philosophy Mood contemplative skeptical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal belief - theological debate - existential reflection Key Concepts epistemology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What role does proof play in personal faith? - Can faith and reason coexist? A Different Perspective May dismiss rational inquiry. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [I always rewrite each day up to the point where I stopped. When it is all finished, naturally you go over it. You get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-always-rewrite-each-day-up-to-the-point-where-i-stopped-when-it-is/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Without computers we will be stuck only proving theorems that have short proofs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-appel/without-computers-we-will-be-stuck-only-proving-theorems-that-have/) Kenneth Appel > [Mathematics does not grow through a monotonous increase of the number of indubitably established theorems but through the incessant improvement of guesses by speculation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-lakatos/mathematics-does-not-grow-through-a-monotonous-increase-of-the-number/) [Imre Lakatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-lakatos/) > [Proofs exist only in mathematics and logic, not in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satoshi-kanazawa/proofs-exist-only-in-mathematics-and-logic-not-in-science/) [Satoshi Kanazawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satoshi-kanazawa/) > [All proofs inevitably lead to propositions which have no proof! All things are known because we want to believe in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/all-proofs-inevitably-lead-to-propositions-which-have-no-proof-all/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [ Believers who have formulated such proofs \[for God's existence\] ... would never have come to believe as a result of such proofs ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/believers-who-have-formulated-such-proofs-for-god-s-existence-would/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“Thus it is well to seem merciful, faithful, humane, sincere, religious, and also to be so; but you must have the mind so disposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/thus-it-is-well-to-seem-merciful-faithful-humane-sincere-religious-2/) [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“Religion is a dream, in which our own conceptions and emotions appear to us as separate existences, beings out of ourselves. The religious mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/religion-is-a-dream-in-which-our-own-conceptions-and-emotions-appear/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [Nothing but an imperious intellectual and moral necessity can drive into doubt a religious mind, for it is as though an earthquake shook the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/nothing-but-an-imperious-intellectual-and-moral-necessity-can-drive/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [True art is made noble and religious by the mind producing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/true-art-is-made-noble-and-religious-by-the-mind-producing-it/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [Religion, it seems to me, has nothing whatsoever to do with any belief, with any priest, with any church or so-called sacred book. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/religion-it-seems-to-me-has-nothing-whatsoever-to-do-with-any-belief/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [It is only the religious mind that is a truly revolutionary mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/it-is-only-the-religious-mind-that-is-a-truly-revolutionary-mind/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“A mind that is free of any distortion is really the true religious mind, not a mind that goes to the temple, not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-mind-that-is-free-of-any-distortion-is-really-the-true-religious/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Thus it is well to seem merciful, faithful, humane, sincere, religious, and also to be so; but you must have the mind so disposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/thus-it-is-well-to-seem-merciful-faithful-humane-sincere-religious/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) ## 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 Christianity quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“some of my good Baptist brethren in Georgia had done a little preaching from the pulpit against the KKK, I would have a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-moss/some-of-my-good-baptist-brethren-in-georgia-had-done-a-little/) [Norman Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-moss/) > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Why do Christians sing when they are together? The reason is, quite simply, because in singing together it is possible for them to speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/why-do-christians-sing-when-they-are-together-the-reason-is-quite/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“every church can treat each discipleship class and each worship service as an opportunity for continual rehearsal of what the words, stories, symbols, rituals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/every-church-can-treat-each-discipleship-class-and-each-worship/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [“A question for Christians who accept evolution: When did we gain a "soul"? Did Homo habilis have a soul? Homo ergaster? Did God only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/a-question-for-christians-who-accept-evolution-when-did-we-gain-a/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [A real Christian in an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-real-christian-in-an-odd-number-anyway-he-feels-supreme-love-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I grew up in Synagogue in the boys' choir. We didn't listen to music in the house; only at temple. Then I went to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/i-grew-up-in-synagogue-in-the-boys-choir-we-didn-t-listen-to-music-in/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) [Browse all 14,385 Christianity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Proofs are the last thing looked for by a truly religious mind which feels the imaginary fitness of its faith.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Santayana" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/proofs-are-the-last-thing-looked-for-by-a-truly-religious-mind-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Christianity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/proofs-are-the-last-thing-looked-for-by-a-truly-religious-mind-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/george-santayana-478_christianity_proofs-are-the-last-thing-looked-for-by_2648184.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/george-santayana-478_christianity_proofs-are-the-last-thing-looked-for-by_2648184.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/george-santayana-478_christianity_proofs-are-the-last-thing-looked-for-by_2648184.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Proofs are the last thing looked for by a truly religious mind which feels the imaginary fitness of its faith.” — 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": "Proofs are the last thing looked...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/proofs-are-the-last-thing-looked-for-by-a-truly-religious-mind-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/proofs-are-the-last-thing-looked-for-by-a-truly-religious-mind-which/#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 } } ] } ```