--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would have every zealous man examine…" description: "\"I would have every zealous man examine his heart thoroughly, and I believe he will often find that what be calls a zeal for his religion is either prid..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/joseph-addison-377_believe_i-would-have-every-zealous-man-examine-h_644860.png" --- # I would have every zealous man examine his heart… ![“I would have every zealous man examine his heart thoroughly, and I believe he will often find that what be calls a zeal for his religion is either pride, interest, or ill-repute.” quote by Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/joseph-addison-377_believe_i-would-have-every-zealous-man-examine-h_644860.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/joseph-addison-377_believe_i-would-have-every-zealous-man-examine-h_644860.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f2/joseph-addison-377_believe_i-would-have-every-zealous-man-examine-h_644860.png) > “I would have every zealous man examine his heart thoroughly, and I believe he will often find that what be calls a zeal for his religion is either pride, interest, or ill-repute.” [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Zeal for religion often masks pride, self‑interest, or bad motives. **In simple terms:** Religious zeal may hide selfish motives. Key Takeaway Examine motives behind religious fervor. Themes religion pride self‑interest Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - theology - political discourse - personal reflection Key Concepts ethics motivation critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What questions reveal true motives? - How to distinguish sincere zeal from pride? A Different Perspective Might overlook genuine faith experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Zeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zeal/) ## Related quotes > [“A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle-2/a-zealous-man-in-religion-is-pre-eminently-a-man-of-one-thing-it-is/) [J.C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle-2/) > [A believing man will be a zealous man. Faith makes a man zealous. Faith shows itself by zeal. Not by zeal for a party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatius-bonar/a-believing-man-will-be-a-zealous-man-faith-makes-a-man-zealous-faith/) [Horatius Bonar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatius-bonar/) > [A zealous man feels that like a lamp he is made to burn; and if consumed in burning, he has but done the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/a-zealous-man-feels-that-like-a-lamp-he-is-made-to-burn-and-if/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [There is no pestilence in a state like a zeal for religion, independent of morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/there-is-no-pestilence-in-a-state-like-a-zeal-for-religion/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [Unless the cause of peace based on law gathers behind it the force and zeal of a religion, it hardly can hope to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/unless-the-cause-of-peace-based-on-law-gathers-behind-it-the-force/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [It's not when you realize that nothing can help you — religion, pride, anything — it's when you realize that you don't need any aid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-s-not-when-you-realize-that-nothing-can-help-you-religion-pride/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It's not when you realise that nothing can help you - religion, pride, anything - it's when you realise that you don't need any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-s-not-when-you-realise-that-nothing-can-help-you-religion-pride/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“One person with a divine purpose, passion and power is better than 99 people who are merely interested. Passion is stronger than interest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/one-person-with-a-divine-purpose-passion-and-power-is-better-than-99/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“We all tend to make zealous judgement, and thereby close ourselves off from revelation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/we-all-tend-to-make-zealous-judgement-and-thereby-close-ourselves-off/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“I believe that we are just carriers of God's wisdom that he uses to refurnish the earth He created. You are carrying part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/i-believe-that-we-are-just-carriers-of-god-s-wisdom-that-he-uses-to/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Being interested in doing undone things means you have the wish to have them done. But being powerful and filled with passion tells that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/being-interested-in-doing-undone-things-means-you-have-the-wish-to/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Zealous, not modest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-beattie/zealous-not-modest/) [James Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-beattie/) > [Through zeal, knowledge is gotten; through lack of zeal, knowledge is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/through-zeal-knowledge-is-gotten-through-lack-of-zeal-knowledge-is-2/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [I do not love a man who is zealous for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/i-do-not-love-a-man-who-is-zealous-for-nothing/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [I remember a passage in Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield," which he was afterwards fool enough to expunge: "I do not love a man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-remember-a-passage-in-goldsmith-s-vicar-of-wakefield-which-he-was/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More by Joseph Addison > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There is nothing touches our imagination so much as a beautiful woman in a plain dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-nothing-touches-our-imagination-so-much-as-a-beautiful-woman/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [We are always doing something for posterity, but I would fain see posterity do something for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/we-are-always-doing-something-for-posterity-but-i-would-fain-see/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Female Virtues are of a Domestick turn. The Family is the proper Province for Private Women to Shine in. 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