--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thou, -- dost thou pray?” cried Giovanni…" description: "\"“Thou, -- dost thou pray?” cried Giovanni, still with the same fiendish scorn. “Thy very prayers, as they come from thy lips, taint the atmosphere with..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_holy-water_thou-dost-thou-pray-cried-giovanni-still_1726902.jpg" --- # Thou, -- dost thou pray?” cried Giovanni, still with the… ![“Thou, -- dost thou pray?” cried Giovanni, still with the same fiendish scorn. “Thy very prayers, as they come from thy lips, taint the atmosphere with death. Yes, yes; let us pray! Let us to church and dip our fingers in the holy water at the portal! They that come after us will perish as by a…” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_holy-water_thou-dost-thou-pray-cried-giovanni-still_1726902.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_holy-water_thou-dost-thou-pray-cried-giovanni-still_1726902.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_holy-water_thou-dost-thou-pray-cried-giovanni-still_1726902.jpg) > ““Thou, -- dost thou pray?” cried Giovanni, still with the same fiendish scorn. “Thy very prayers, as they come from thy lips, taint the atmosphere with death. Yes, yes; let us pray! Let us to church and dip our fingers in the holy water at the portal! They that come after us will perish as by a pestilence! Let us sign crosses in the air! It will be scattering curses abroad in the likeness of holy symbols!”” [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character mocks prayer, suggesting that even sacred acts can be twisted into harmful curses when performed with false piety. **In simple terms:** Mocking prayer as a harmful act when insincere. Key Takeaway Beware the emptiness of ritual without sincerity. Themes hypocrisy religion power language ritual Mood cynical satirical critical Type satire literary philosophical When to use this quote - religious ceremonies - political rallies - personal confrontations - media satire Key Concepts symbolic violence psychology of belief ritual efficacy Questions to Reflect On - Do rituals lose meaning without belief? - Can mockery ever be constructive? A Different Perspective The quote satirizes faith but may overlook genuine spiritual comfort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Holy water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-water/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayers Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayers-come-413007/) [Scorn Thy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scorn-thy-1392051/) [Thou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thou/) [Thou Pray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thou-pray-705116/) [Thy Prayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thy-prayers-1392050/) ## Related quotes > [I cannot love thee; thou 'rt worse than thy brother. Go, say thy prayers, child, and ask God's pardon. I doubt thy mother and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-cannot-love-thee-thou-rt-worse-than-thy-brother-go-say-thy-prayers/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“But do thou pray unto God and He shall heal thine own sins, and those of thy whole house, and of all the saints.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-do-thou-pray-unto-god-and-he-shall-heal-thine-own-sins-and-those/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why dost thou not pray... to give thee the faculty of not fearing any of the things which thou fearest, or of not desiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/why-dost-thou-not-pray-to-give-thee-the-faculty-of-not-fearing-any-of/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [O Death the Healer, scorn thou not, I pray, To come to me: of cureless ills thou art The one physician. Pain lays not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/o-death-the-healer-scorn-thou-not-i-pray-to-come-to-me-of-cureless/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Good prayers never come creeping home. I am sure I shall receive either what I ask, or what I should ask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hall/good-prayers-never-come-creeping-home-i-am-sure-i-shall-receive/) [Joseph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hall/) > [The answers to our prayers may not come dramatically, but we must find quiet moments to seek greater light and truth. And when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-a-esplin/the-answers-to-our-prayers-may-not-come-dramatically-but-we-must-find/) [Cheryl A. Esplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-a-esplin/) > [“Only later during her prayers had it come to her how cunning Satan could be. Her love for Marcus could become a tool against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/only-later-during-her-prayers-had-it-come-to-her-how-cunning-satan/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [God does not exist to answer our prayers, but by our prayers we come to discern the mind of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/god-does-not-exist-to-answer-our-prayers-but-by-our-prayers-we-come/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“My most dangerous prayers have come in moments of deep frustration and seasons of brokenness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-rohrmayer/my-most-dangerous-prayers-have-come-in-moments-of-deep-frustration/) [Gary Rohrmayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-rohrmayer/) > [“The work of God is done on God's timetable. His answers to our prayers come always in time--His time. His thoughts are far higher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/the-work-of-god-is-done-on-god-s-timetable-his-answers-to-our-prayers/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [“God will not cooperate with prayers of mere self-interest, or prayers that come from impure motives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders-2/god-will-not-cooperate-with-prayers-of-mere-self-interest-or-prayers/) [J Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders-2/) > [“Thou are my only reality-- all other people are but shadows to me: all events and actions, in which thou dost not mingle, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/thou-are-my-only-reality-all-other-people-are-but-shadows-to-me-all/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Give me a mirror.Or holy water. I'll drink it,even!" I gasped as someone threw water on the side of my face. "A little warning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/give-me-a-mirror-or-holy-water-i-ll-drink-it-even-i-gasped-as-someone/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Birth: The first and direst of all disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/birth-the-first-and-direst-of-all-disasters/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [ “The fact that these kits \[vampire protection\] were generally useless didn’t bother me nearly as much as the idea of holy water being sold… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-harper/the-fact-that-these-kits-vampire-protection-were-generally-useless/) [Molly Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-harper/) ## More by Nathaniel Hawthorne > [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The trees reflected in the river - they are unconscious of a spiritual world so near to them. So are we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-trees-reflected-in-the-river-they-are-unconscious-of-a-spiritual/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at its circumference unbroken sequences of teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-dismaying-thing-about-the-classic-totalitarian-mind-is-that-any/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire, I longed to kindle one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/my-heart-was-a-habitation-large-enough-for-many-guests-but-lonely-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Wherever there is a heart and an intellect, the diseases of the physical frame are tinged with the peculiarities of these.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/wherever-there-is-a-heart-and-an-intellect-the-diseases-of-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Generosity is the flower of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/generosity-is-the-flower-of-justice/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“he seemed to be in quest for mental food, not heart sustenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/he-seemed-to-be-in-quest-for-mental-food-not-heart-sustenance/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Unfathomable to mere mortals is the lore of fiends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/unfathomable-to-mere-mortals-is-the-lore-of-fiends/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Possibly, he was in a state of second growth and recovery, and was constantly assimilating nutriment for his spirit and intellect from sights, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/possibly-he-was-in-a-state-of-second-growth-and-recovery-and-was/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“What wonder, then, should we be frightened by the aspect of a monster, which, after all,—though we can point to every feature of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-wonder-then-should-we-be-frightened-by-the-aspect-of-a-monster/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [As the architecture of a country always follows the earliest structures, American architecture should be a refinement of the log-house. The Egyptian is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/as-the-architecture-of-a-country-always-follows-the-earliest/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-we-call-real-estate-the-solid-ground-to-build-a-house-on-is-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The bookworm of great libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-bookworm-of-great-libraries/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-are-many-things-in-this-world-that-a-child-must-not-ask-about/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) [Explore all 526 Nathaniel Hawthorne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## More Holy water quotes > [ “The fact that these kits \[vampire protection\] were generally useless didn’t bother me nearly as much as the idea of holy water being sold… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-harper/the-fact-that-these-kits-vampire-protection-were-generally-useless/) [Molly Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-harper/) > [Give me a mirror.Or holy water. 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The place is scrupulously cleaned and a light is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajender-menen/before-entering-a-new-home-a-vaastu-puja-is-performed-to-the/) [Rajender Menen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajender-menen/) > [“I didn’t know if he was crying for what he’d lost, or for what he’d never had, but there was a beauty in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/i-didn-t-know-if-he-was-crying-for-what-he-d-lost-or-for-what-he-d/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [“Mallet? Check. Wooden stake—hickory, of course? Check. Crucifix? Well, yeah. Like five of those. Rohypnol? Check. Holy water? Check. Eyeliner? Check. Yeah, eyeliner. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mallet-check-wooden-stake-hickory-of-course-check-crucifix-well-yeah/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Holy water cannot help you now A thousand armies couldn’t keep me out See, I’ve come to burn your kingdom down I’ve come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/holy-water-cannot-help-you-now-a-thousand-armies-couldn-t-keep-me-out/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“performed to the imaginary Vaastu Purusha. The place is scrupulously cleaned and a light is carried to the centre of the house where a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajender-menen/performed-to-the-imaginary-vaastu-purusha-the-place-is-scrupulously/) [Rajender Menen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajender-menen/) > [Well look, I mean, I think that prayer and holy water, and things like that are all fine. 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