--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Superstition changes a man to a beast…" description: "\"Superstition changes a man to a beast, fanaticism makes him a wild beast, and despotism a beast of burden.\" — Jean-Francois de La Harpe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/jean-francois-de-la-harpe-5087_beast_superstition-changes-a-man-to-a-beast-fa_2527364.png" --- # Superstition changes a man to a beast, fanaticism makes… ![“Superstition changes a man to a beast, fanaticism makes him a wild beast, and despotism a beast of burden.” quote by Jean-Francois de La Harpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/jean-francois-de-la-harpe-5087_beast_superstition-changes-a-man-to-a-beast-fa_2527364.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/jean-francois-de-la-harpe-5087_beast_superstition-changes-a-man-to-a-beast-fa_2527364.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/jean-francois-de-la-harpe-5087_beast_superstition-changes-a-man-to-a-beast-fa_2527364.png) > “Superstition changes a man to a beast, fanaticism makes him a wild beast, and despotism a beast of burden.” [Jean-Francois de La Harpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Superstition, fanaticism, and despotism each transform humans into increasingly uncontrolled or burdensome beasts. **In simple terms:** Bad beliefs turn people into beasts. Key Takeaway Guard against irrational beliefs and authoritarianism. Themes politics psychology ethics history Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - political campaigns - religious movements - workplace culture - personal development Key Concepts authority irrationality power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What beliefs have you questioned lately? - How do you resist becoming a 'beast' of power? A Different Perspective Not all extremes are equally harmful; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast/) [Beast Despotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast-despotism-1310651/) [Beast Fanaticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast-fanaticism-1310650/) [Beast of burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast-of-burden/) [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Despotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despotism/) [Despotism Beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despotism-beast-1310652/) [Fanaticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanaticism/) [Fanaticism Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fanaticism-makes-1310653/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Superstition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstition/) [Superstitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstitions/) [Wild beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-beast/) [Wild beasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-beasts/) ## Related quotes > [Wherever I am, I see the yoke on women in some form or another. On some it sits easy for they are but beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-may-alcott/wherever-i-am-i-see-the-yoke-on-women-in-some-form-or-another-on-some/) [Abby May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-may-alcott/) > [Too many words are lit for a beast of burden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yunus-emre/too-many-words-are-lit-for-a-beast-of-burden/) [Yunus Emre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yunus-emre/) > [The cowardly belief that a person must stay in one place is too reminiscent of the unquestioning resignation of animals, beasts of burden stupefied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-eberhardt/the-cowardly-belief-that-a-person-must-stay-in-one-place-is-too/) [Isabelle Eberhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-eberhardt/) > [Science itself is badly in need of integration and unification. The tendency is more and more the other way ... Only the graduate student,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isidor-isaac-rabi/science-itself-is-badly-in-need-of-integration-and-unification-the/) [Isidor Isaac Rabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isidor-isaac-rabi/) > [Racism, xenophobia and unfair discrimination have spawned slavery, when human beings have bought and sold and owned and branded fellow human beings as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/racism-xenophobia-and-unfair-discrimination-have-spawned-slavery-when/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Some persons hold that, while it is proper for the lawgiver to encourage and exhort men to virtue on moral grounds, in the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/some-persons-hold-that-while-it-is-proper-for-the-lawgiver-to/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [I have reached zero tolerance for the cruelty against our animal brothers. If we are to nuture our culture, let's begin with the animals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rikki-rockett/i-have-reached-zero-tolerance-for-the-cruelty-against-our-animal/) [Rikki Rockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rikki-rockett/) > [He, who learns and makes no use of his learning, is a beast of burden, with a load of books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/he-who-learns-and-makes-no-use-of-his-learning-is-a-beast-of-burden-2/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [The leopard does not change his spots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-leopard-does-not-change-his-spots/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The tide of history is turning women from beasts of burden and sexual playthings into full-fledged human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-tide-of-history-is-turning-women-from-beasts-of-burden-and-sexual/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [He who learns, and makes no use of his learning, is a beast of burden with a load of books. Does the ass comprehend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/he-who-learns-and-makes-no-use-of-his-learning-is-a-beast-of-burden/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [I think that the internet is a beast of burden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-healy/i-think-that-the-internet-is-a-beast-of-burden/) [Matthew Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-healy/) > [The rich are like beasts of burden, carrying treasure all day, and at the night of death unladen; they carry to their grave only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-rich-are-like-beasts-of-burden-carrying-treasure-all-day-and-at/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [We have used the Bible as if it was a mere special constable's handbook — an opium-dose for keeping beasts of burden patient while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/we-have-used-the-bible-as-if-it-was-a-mere-special-constable-s/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [They are all beasts of burden in a sense, ' Thoreau once remarked of animals, 'made to carry some portion of our thoughts.' Animals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/they-are-all-beasts-of-burden-in-a-sense-thoreau-once-remarked-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## More by Jean-Francois de La Harpe > [We weaken what we exaggerate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/we-weaken-what-we-exaggerate/) [Jean-Francois de La Harpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/) > [We always weaken whatever we exaggerate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/we-always-weaken-whatever-we-exaggerate/) [Jean-Francois de La Harpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/) > [We never forget those who make us blush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/we-never-forget-those-who-make-us-blush/) [Jean-Francois de La Harpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/) > [Our self-love can be resigned to the sacrifice of everything but itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/our-self-love-can-be-resigned-to-the-sacrifice-of-everything-but/) [Jean-Francois de La Harpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/) > [To exaggerate is to weaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/to-exaggerate-is-to-weaken/) [Jean-Francois de La Harpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/) > [To teach successfully we must tell all we know, but only what is adaptable to the student.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/to-teach-successfully-we-must-tell-all-we-know-but-only-what-is/) [Jean-Francois de La Harpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/) [Explore all 7 Jean-Francois de La Harpe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/) ## More Beast quotes > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou ow'st the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-man-no-more-than-this-consider-him-well-thou-ow-st-the-worm-no/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In giving us dominion over the animal kingdom God has signified His will that we subdue the beast within ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/in-giving-us-dominion-over-the-animal-kingdom-god-has-signified-his/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [As a beast of toil an ox is fixed capital. If he is eaten, he no longer functions as an instrument of labour, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-a-beast-of-toil-an-ox-is-fixed-capital-if-he-is-eaten-he-no-longer/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [« He squeezed his hands into fists. I picked up a grapefruit-sized rock and handed it to him. It went flying. Home run, Beast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/he-squeezed-his-hands-into-fists-i-picked-up-a-grapefruit-sized-rock/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Was man made stupid to see his own stupidity? Is God by definition indifferent, beyond us all? Is the eternal truth man's fighting soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-eberhart/was-man-made-stupid-to-see-his-own-stupidity-is-god-by-definition/) [Richard Eberhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-eberhart/) > [When a man is treated like a beast, he says, 'After all, I'm human.' When he behaves like a beast, he says 'After all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/when-a-man-is-treated-like-a-beast-he-says-after-all-i-m-human-when/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [The American people are incredibly generous and even playful when you open yourself up and feed the media beast until it goes away satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-ball/the-american-people-are-incredibly-generous-and-even-playful-when-you/) [Krystal Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-ball/) > [Wherever I am, I see the yoke on women in some form or another. On some it sits easy for they are but beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-may-alcott/wherever-i-am-i-see-the-yoke-on-women-in-some-form-or-another-on-some/) [Abby May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-may-alcott/) > [“He's a beast. A monster. And he looks like he wants to devour me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/he-s-a-beast-a-monster-and-he-looks-like-he-wants-to-devour-me/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [ Antichrist is the pope and the Turk \[Muslim\] together. A beast full of life must have a body and soul. The spirit or soul… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/antichrist-is-the-pope-and-the-turk-muslim-together-a-beast-full-of/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [My hero among heroes is my grandmother, she's the epitome of strength and I try to mock that strength all the time. She's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeriel-miranda/my-hero-among-heroes-is-my-grandmother-she-s-the-epitome-of-strength/) [Aeriel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeriel-miranda/) > [You've heard tales of beauty and the beast. How a fair maid falls in love with a monster and sees the beauty of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-maitland/you-ve-heard-tales-of-beauty-and-the-beast-how-a-fair-maid-falls-in/) [Karen Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-maitland/) [Browse all 1,640 Beast quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Superstition changes a man to a beast, fanaticism makes him a wild beast, and despotism a beast of burden.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Francois de La Harpe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/superstition-changes-a-man-to-a-beast-fanaticism-makes-him-a-wild/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beast" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/superstition-changes-a-man-to-a-beast-fanaticism-makes-him-a-wild/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/jean-francois-de-la-harpe-5087_beast_superstition-changes-a-man-to-a-beast-fa_2527364.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/jean-francois-de-la-harpe-5087_beast_superstition-changes-a-man-to-a-beast-fa_2527364.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a0/jean-francois-de-la-harpe-5087_beast_superstition-changes-a-man-to-a-beast-fa_2527364.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Superstition changes a man to a beast, fanaticism makes him a wild beast, and despotism a beast of burden.” — Jean-Francois de La Harpe", "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": "Jean-Francois de La Harpe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Superstition changes a man to a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/superstition-changes-a-man-to-a-beast-fanaticism-makes-him-a-wild/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-de-la-harpe/superstition-changes-a-man-to-a-beast-fanaticism-makes-him-a-wild/#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 } } ] } ```