--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They [zealots] would have everybody be as…" description: "\"They [zealots] would have everybody be as blind as themselves: to them, to be clear-sighted is libertinism.\" — Moliere" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/moliere-965_bigotry_they-zealots-would-have-everybody-be-as_2582830.png" --- # They \[zealots\] would have everybody be as blind as… ![“They [zealots] would have everybody be as blind as themselves: to them, to be clear-sighted is libertinism.” quote by Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/moliere-965_bigotry_they-zealots-would-have-everybody-be-as_2582830.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/moliere-965_bigotry_they-zealots-would-have-everybody-be-as_2582830.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/moliere-965_bigotry_they-zealots-would-have-everybody-be-as_2582830.png) > “They \[zealots\] would have everybody be as blind as themselves: to them, to be clear-sighted is libertinism.” [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Blind devotion to others mirrors one's own ignorance; true clarity is seen as immoral. **In simple terms:** Blind loyalty is seen as a flaw. Key Takeaway Question the motives behind blind allegiance. Themes faith blindness liberty morality Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - politics - religion - cult dynamics - personal relationships Key Concepts philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - What does “clear‑sighted” mean to you? - When does loyalty become harmful? A Different Perspective Blind faith can be manipulated, limiting freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bigotry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigotry/) [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Zealot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zealot/) [Zealots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zealots/) ## Related quotes > [“Throughout history, more has been lost to over-eager zealots than to mediocre slackers. A slacker leaves well enough alone. A zealot, a true patriot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-e-mclean/throughout-history-more-has-been-lost-to-over-eager-zealots-than-to/) [Patrick E. McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-e-mclean/) > [I have done no wrong but the zealots are trying to attack me because I am so critical of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-done-no-wrong-but-the-zealots-are-trying-to-attack-me-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Cynicism has its own zealots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/cynicism-has-its-own-zealots/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Having lost faith in all else, zealots have nothing left but a holy cause to please a warrior God. They win if we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/having-lost-faith-in-all-else-zealots-have-nothing-left-but-a-holy/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [Fear and anxiety were exploited by zealots and fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-addington/fear-and-anxiety-were-exploited-by-zealots-and-fools/) David Addington > [Zealots are like one track-pony. Don't get in their way without expecting to get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/zealots-are-like-one-track-pony-don-t-get-in-their-way-without/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Some 'separation' zealots would expunge any vestige of religious observance in public schools. Many of the same anti-religious fanatics would like to wipe out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/some-separation-zealots-would-expunge-any-vestige-of-religious/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [“Never depend on zealots for clarity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-a-a-savastano/never-depend-on-zealots-for-clarity/) [C.A.A. Savastano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-a-a-savastano/) > [I think while zealots fast and frown, And fight for two or seven, That there are fifty roads to town, And rather more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winthrop-mackworth-praed/i-think-while-zealots-fast-and-frown-and-fight-for-two-or-seven-that/) [Winthrop Mackworth Praed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winthrop-mackworth-praed/) > [“Zealots are totally incapable of any emotion other than rage. It is an unalterable law that people who claim to care about the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/zealots-are-totally-incapable-of-any-emotion-other-than-rage-it-is-an/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [ Had today's technophobic zealots \[environmental activists\] been in charge in previous centuries, we would have to roll human progress back to the Middle Ages… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-driessen/had-today-s-technophobic-zealots-environmental-activists-been-in/) [Paul Driessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-driessen/) > [Zealots: Wild eyed persons afflicted with incurable certainty about the workings of the world, a certainty that can lead to violence when the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-stroud/zealots-wild-eyed-persons-afflicted-with-incurable-certainty-about/) [Jonathan Stroud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-stroud/) > [I'm not good with bullies and zealots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-cumming/i-m-not-good-with-bullies-and-zealots/) [Charles Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-cumming/) > [To make a small town achieve its potential, you need everybody. When a blind person carries a crippled person who can see, both of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unita-blackwell/to-make-a-small-town-achieve-its-potential-you-need-everybody-when-a/) [Unita Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unita-blackwell/) > [That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/that-old-law-about-an-eye-for-an-eye-leaves-everybody-blind-the-time/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More by Moliere > [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Tobacco is the passion of honest men and he who lives without tobacco is not worthy of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/tobacco-is-the-passion-of-honest-men-and-he-who-lives-without-tobacco/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Cover that bosom that I must not see: souls are wounded by such things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/cover-that-bosom-that-i-must-not-see-souls-are-wounded-by-such-things/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Even Rome cannot grant us a dispensation from death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/even-rome-cannot-grant-us-a-dispensation-from-death/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Anyone may be an honorable man, and yet write verse badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/anyone-may-be-an-honorable-man-and-yet-write-verse-badly/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [The beautiful eyes of my cash-box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/the-beautiful-eyes-of-my-cash-box/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [He makes his cook his merit, and the world visits his dinners and not him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/he-makes-his-cook-his-merit-and-the-world-visits-his-dinners-and-not/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Show some mercy to this chair which has stretched out its arms to you for so long; please satisfy its desire to embrace you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/show-some-mercy-to-this-chair-which-has-stretched-out-its-arms-to-you/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [In order to prove a friend to one's guests, frugality must reign in one's meals; and, according to an ancient saying, one must eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/in-order-to-prove-a-friend-to-one-s-guests-frugality-must-reign-in/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [In society one needs a flexible virtue; too much goodness can be blamable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/in-society-one-needs-a-flexible-virtue-too-much-goodness-can-be/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Some of the most famous books are the least worth reading. Their fame was due to their having done something that needed to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/some-of-the-most-famous-books-are-the-least-worth-reading-their-fame/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Assassination's the fastest way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/assassination-s-the-fastest-way/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Nothing can be fairer, or more noble, than the holy fervor of true zeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/nothing-can-be-fairer-or-more-noble-than-the-holy-fervor-of-true-zeal/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Words and deeds are far from being one. Much that is talked about is left undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/words-and-deeds-are-far-from-being-one-much-that-is-talked-about-is/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) [Explore all 291 Moliere quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) ## More Bigotry quotes > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [To take up half on trust, and half to try, Name it not faith but bungling bigotry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/to-take-up-half-on-trust-and-half-to-try-name-it-not-faith-but/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [Bigoted people are just scholars who lack any sort of legitimate credentials to answer why they're bigoted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doctavius/bigoted-people-are-just-scholars-who-lack-any-sort-of-legitimate/) Doctavius > [Sadly, we can't eliminate bigotry. But that doesn't mean we have to tolerate it, much less give it a platform on which to thrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-viner/sadly-we-can-t-eliminate-bigotry-but-that-doesn-t-mean-we-have-to/) [Katharine Viner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-viner/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“People talk about history and things like slavery, genocide, and religious persecution as horrors that happened in the past because we were ignorant. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-matthew-nespoli/people-talk-about-history-and-things-like-slavery-genocide-and/) [J. Matthew Nespoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-matthew-nespoli/) > [“Remember who you are. This creature wants to take it from you. Do not let him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/remember-who-you-are-this-creature-wants-to-take-it-from-you-do-not/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Oh Beautiful For A Land That's Free Where All Can Congregate Together Live With No Degree Of Bigotry And Hate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bee/oh-beautiful-for-a-land-that-s-free-where-all-can-congregate-together/) Kathy Bee > [“That’s the problem with indoctrination—the whole point of the First Order’s kind of education is to stop someone from thinking and instead kick their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delilah-s-dawson/that-s-the-problem-with-indoctrination-the-whole-point-of-the-first/) [Delilah S. Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delilah-s-dawson/) > [Too small is our world to allow discrimination, bigotry and intolerance to thrive in any corner of it, let alone in the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-engel/too-small-is-our-world-to-allow-discrimination-bigotry-and/) [Eliot Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-engel/) > [... happily the Government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/happily-the-government-of-the-united-states-gives-to-bigotry-no/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“This book would be a great addition to a classroom library, especially considering its emphases on timeless and critical topics like discrimination and prejudice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-lovejoy/this-book-would-be-a-great-addition-to-a-classroom-library-especially/) [Sharon Lovejoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-lovejoy/) > [Pat Buchanan... was fired by MSNBC for doing nothing more than voicing his rock-solid conservative thoughts on the otherwise failing network... The real message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/pat-buchanan-was-fired-by-msnbc-for-doing-nothing-more-than-voicing/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [Fear and Bigotry are bred fom isolation and ignorance. -Shekinah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-and-bigotry-are-bred-fom-isolation-and-ignorance-shekinah/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 661 Bigotry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigotry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They [zealots] would have everybody be as blind as themselves: to them, to be clear-sighted is libertinism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Moliere" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/they-zealots-would-have-everybody-be-as-blind-as-themselves-to-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bigotry" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/they-zealots-would-have-everybody-be-as-blind-as-themselves-to-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/moliere-965_bigotry_they-zealots-would-have-everybody-be-as_2582830.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/moliere-965_bigotry_they-zealots-would-have-everybody-be-as_2582830.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/moliere-965_bigotry_they-zealots-would-have-everybody-be-as_2582830.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They [zealots] would have everybody be as blind as themselves: to them, to be clear-sighted is libertinism.” — Moliere", "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": "Moliere", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "They [zealots] would have everybody be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/they-zealots-would-have-everybody-be-as-blind-as-themselves-to-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/they-zealots-would-have-everybody-be-as-blind-as-themselves-to-them/#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 } } ] } ```