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Robert Hugh Benson

107 quotes

“Ignorance may be bliss, but it certainly is not freedom, except in the minds of those who prefer darkness to light, and chains to liberty. The more true information we can acquire, the better for our enfranchisement.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) first seen 1904 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Intellectual Slavery" (January 1904); Papers of a Pariah (Longmans, Green & Co., 1907), p. 34
“I agree that your troubles are real enough. But all the better. ... I think that the Authorities are pleased sometimes 'to give us something to cry for.' ... Most of us cry without anything. ... And I think that the insane desire one has sometimes to bang and kick grumblers and peevish persons, is a Divine instinct. ... Ergo. ... Therefore thank Them that you something to cry for. One doesn't get far without it.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reported in C. C. Martindale, The Life of Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson (Longmans, Green & Co., 1916), vol. 2, p. 239
“It is strange, sometimes, to find that some silent old lady has a power for sounding human character, which far shrewder persons lack.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“She has been taught to hold herself in, and not to show her feelings; and that, I think, is as much a drawback sometimes as wearing the heart upon the sleeve.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He pictured the peace of the ransomed soul, that knows itself safe in the arms of God; that rejoices, even in this world, in the Light of His Face and the ecstasy of His embrace; that dwells by waters of comfort and lies down in the green pastures of the Heavenly Love; while, round this little island of salvation in an ocean of terror, the thunders of wrath sound only as the noise of surge on a far-off reef.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Surely the King of Love needed no herald when Himself was here.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The development of a nation is strangely paralleled by the development of an individual. There comes in both a period of adolescence, ... and there is a curious mingling of refinement and brutality, stupidity and tenderness.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A growing lad, while he is clumsier, yet manages to leap higher than a year ago.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To say 'Hail Mary, Hail Mary,' is the best way of telling her how much we love her. And then this string of beads is like Our Lady's girdle, and her children love to finger it, and whisper to her. And then we say our paternosters, too; and all the while we are talking she is shewing us pictures of her dear Child, and we look at all the great things He did for us, one by one; and then we turn the page and begin again.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Perhaps that is the reason that I think I see it all so plainly; just because I want to see it plainly.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whenever your soul begins to be disturbed and anxious, put yourself in His Hands, and refuse to decide for yourself. It is so easy, so easy.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Cast away Authority, and authority shall forsake you.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Every man may err, but not the whole gathered together; for the whole hath a promise, but so hath not every particular man.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Forward and backward all in one; that is the way she loves to be wooed. She is a woman, remember that.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Speak from your heart...Be bold, yet not overbold.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Philosophers tell us that the value of existence lies not in the objects perceived, but in the powers of perception.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The tragedy of a child over a broken doll is not less poignant than the anguish of a worshipper over a broken idol, or of a king over a ruined realm.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nothing is so bad as not trusting God.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is scarcely likely that men on fire with success, whether military or commercial, will be patient of the restraints of religion.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In these days, when there is so much enterprise, money has become, as it were, a living thing that grows; or at the least a tool that can be used.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The sense of home-coming was stronger than all else — that strange passion for a particular set of inanimate things — or, at the most, for an association of ideas — that has no parallel in human emotions.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Saint went to Angleland for Pope Saint , And converted our poor ancestors to Christianity; And that is why both you and I are Christians, don't you see?”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Praise the , and love His creatures, birds and beasts as well as men." Sweet Saint of , would that he were here again!”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Z or , the good kitchen-maid; She prayed, and she prayed, and she prayed, and she prayed.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was ever his doctrine that we lose nothing of what is good and sweet in the past, and that we suck out of all things a kind of essence that abides with us always, and that every soul that loves is a treasure-house of all that she has ever loved. It is only the souls that do not love that go empty in this world and in saecula saeculorum.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is marvellous how our Lord sets His seal upon all that we do, if we will but attend to His working, and not think too highly upon what we do ourselves.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is perfectly true that Protestantism is dead. Men do recognise at last that a supernatural Religion involves an absolute authority, and that Private Judgment in matters of faith is nothing else than the beginning of disintegration. And it is also true that since the Catholic Church is the only institution that even claims supernatural authority, with all its merciless logic, she has again the allegiance of practically all Christians who have any supernatural belief left. There are a few faddists left, especially in America and here; but they are negligible.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Until our Lord comes back," he thought to himself; and for an instant the old misery stabbed at his heart. How difficult it was to hold the eyes focussed on that far horizon when this world lay in the foreground so compelling in its splendour and its strength!”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the ages of faith a very inadequate grasp of religion would pass muster; in these searching days none but the humble and the pure could stand the test for long, unless indeed they were protected by a miracle of ignorance. The alliance of Psychology and Materialism did indeed seem, looked at from one angle, to account for everything; it needed a robust supernatural perception to understand their practical inadequacy.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You say Christianity is absurd and impossible. Now, you know, it cannot be that! It may be untrue,— I am not speaking of that now, even though I am perfectly certain that it is absolutely true—but it cannot be absurd so long as educated and virtuous people continue to hold it. To say that it is absurd is simple pride; it is to dismiss all who believe in it as not merely mistaken, but unintelligent as well.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“His emotions had been stormed, his intellect silenced, his memory of grace obscured, a spiritual nausea had sickened his soul, yet the secret fortress of the will had, in an agony, held fast the doors and refused to cry out and call Felsenburgh king.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Friendliness took the place of charity, contentment the place of hope, and knowledge the place of faith.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Persecution was not to be feared. It would no doubt cause apostasies, as it had always done, but these were deplorable only on account of the individual apostates. On the other hand, it would reassure the faithful, and purge out the half-hearted. Once, in the early ages, Satan’s attack had been made on the bodily side, with whips and fire and beasts; in the sixteenth century it had been on the intellectual side; in the twentieth century on the springs of moral and spiritual life. Now it seemed as if the assault was on all three planes at once.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Men have thought—led astray by seducers—that the unity of nations was the greatest prize of this life, forgetting the words of our Saviour, Who said that He came to bring not peace but a sword, and that it is through many tribulations that we enter God’s Kingdom. First, then, there should be established the peace of man with God, and after that the unity of man with man will follow. Seek ye first, said Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God—and then all these things shall be added unto you.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Three Evangelical Counsels shall be the foundation of the Rule, to which we add a fourth intention, namely, that of a desire to receive the crown of martyrdom and a purpose of embracing it.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We offer no rewards except those which God Himself has promised to those that love Him, and lay down their life for Him; no promise of peace, save of that which passeth understanding; no home save that which befits pilgrims and sojourners who seek a City to come; no honour save the world’s contempt; no life, save that which is hid with Christ in God.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Holy Father was attended at the altar by the usual sovereigns; and Percy from his place watched the heavenly drama of Christ’s Passion enacted through the veil of His nativity at the hands of His old Angelic Vicar. It was hard to perceive Calvary here ; it was surely the air of Bethlehem, the celestial light, not the supernatural darkness, that beamed round the simple altar. It was the Child called Wonderful that lay there beneath the old hands, rather than the stricken Man of Sorrows.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The car was now ascending rapidly towards the pass up across the huge tumbled slopes, ravines, and cliffs that lie like outworks of the enormous wall. Seen from this great height they were in themselves comparatively insignificant, but they at least suggested the vastness of the bastions of which they were no more than buttresses.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Their nakedness was their armour, their slow tongues their persuasiveness, their weakness demanded God’s strength, and found it.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The human race was now a single entity with a supreme responsibility towards itself; there were no longer any private rights at all, such as had certainly existed, in the period previous to this. Man now possessed dominion over every cell which composed His Mystical Body, and where any such cell asserted itself to the detriment of the Body, the rights of the whole were unqualified.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Well, what they call the Incarnation is really the point. Everything else flows from that. And, once a man believes that, I must confess that all the rest follows—even down to scapulars and holy water." "Mr. Francis, I don’t understand a word you’re saying." He smiled indulgently. "Of course not," he said; "it is all incredible nonsense. But, you know, I did really believe it all once." "But it’s unreasonable," she said. He made a little demurring sound. "Yes," he said, "in one sense, of course it is—utterly unreasonable. But in another sense——”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Religion always is and always has been at the root of every world-movement.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is no such thing, of course, really as Irreligion — except by a purely conventional use of the word: the 'irreligious' man is one who has made up his mind either that there is no future world, or that it is so remote, as regards effectivity, as to have no bearing upon this. And that is a religion — at least it is a dogmatic creed — as much as any other.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The State can only give for economic reasons, however conscientious and individually charitable statesmen may be; while the Church gives for the Love of God, and the Love of God never yet destroyed any man's self-respect.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Socialist saw plainly the rights of the Society; the Anarchist saw the rights of the Individual. How therefore were these to be reconciled? The Church stepped in at that crucial point and answered, By the Family — whether domestic or religious. For in the Family you have both claims recognized: there is authority and yet there is liberty. For the union of the Family lies in Love; and Love is the only reconciliation of authority and liberty.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You see, when competition ceases, effort ceases. Human nature is human nature, after all. The Socialists forgot that.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Remember human nature, Monsignor. After all, it was only intense self-importance that used to make men say that they were independent of exterior beauty. It's far more natural and simple to like beauty. Every child does, after all.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So long as there is Sin in the world, so long must there be Penance.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Honors and privileges are worth nothing if every one has them. If we all wore crowns, the kings would go bareheaded.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Democracy doesn't give the Average Man any real power at all. It swamps him among, under his friends — that is to say, it kills his individuality; and his individuality is the one thing he has which is worth anything.”
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) said by 1914 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source