No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer.
Thomas BrowneRead
Had not almost every man suffered by the Press, or were not the tyranny thereof become universal, I had not wanted reason for complaint.
Interpretation
The quote reflects a deep dissatisfaction with societal oppression through mass media, suggesting that many share in this grievance.
Thomas Browne's quote underscores the pervasive suffering caused by the tyranny of the Press, implying that if it were not for this widespread injustice, he would have no reason to complain. It highlights the role of media as a powerful entity that shapes public perception and can lead to collective discontent among individuals who feel oppressed or misrepresented.
In practice
In a debate about media accountability, one might quote this to underscore the risks of press freedom.
No one should approach the temple of science with the soul of a money changer.
Content may dwell in all stations. To be low but above contempt may be high enough to be happy.
Thus there are two books from whence I collect my Divinity; besides that written one of God, another of his servant Nature, that universal and public Manuscript, that lies expans'd unto the eyes of all; those that never saw him in the one, have discovered him in the other.
To be content with death may be better than to desire it.
Life itself is but the shadow of death, and souls departed but the shadows of the living.
The long habit of living indisposeth us for dying.
With most men, unbelief in one thing springs from blind belief in another.
I am a lover of truth, a worshipper of freedom, a celebrant at the altar of language and purity and tolerance.
The naked truth is always better than the best-dressed lie.
To die for an idea is to set a rather high price upon conjecture.
Would you require a wretched being, whose life is slowly wasting under a lingering disease, to despatch himself at once by the stroke of a dagger? Does not the very disorder which consumes his strength deprive him of the courage to effect his deliverance?
Totally without hope, one cannot live. To live without hope is to cease to live.
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