Ernest Renan
Ernest Renan
Joseph Ernest Renanwas a French expert of Middle East ancient languages and civilizations, philosopher, historian, and writer, devoted to his native province of Brittany. He is best known for his influential historical works on early Christianity, and his political theories, especially concerning nationalism and national identity. Renan is credited as being among the first scholars to advance the Khazar theory, which held that Ashkenazi Jews were descendants of Turkic peoples who had adopted Jewish religion and migrated to Western Europe...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionHistorian
Date of Birth28 February 1823
CountryFrance
None of the miracles with which ancient histories are filled, occurred under scientific conditions. Observation never once contradicted, teaches us that miracles occur only in periods and countries in which they are believed in and before persons disposed to believe in them.
To be able to think freely, a man must be certain that no consequence will follow whatever he writes.
The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."
The simplest schoolboy is now familiar with truths for which Archimedes would have sacrificed his life.
Getting its history wrong is part of being a nation.
No idea can succeed except at the expense of sacrifice; no one ever escapes without enduring strain from the struggle of life.
To have common glories in the past, a common will in the present; to have done great things together; to wish to do greater; these are the essential conditions which make up a people
Morality has been conceived up to the present in a very narrow spirit, as obedience to a law, as inner struggle between opposite laws. As for me, I declare that when I do good I obey no one, I fight no battle and win no victory. The cultivated person has only to follow the delicious incline of his or her inner impulses. Be beautiful and then do at each moment whatever your heart may inspire you to do. This is the whole of morality.
True Christianity, which will last forever, comes from the gospel words of Christ not from the epistles of Paul. The writings of Paul have been a danger and a hidden rock, the causes of the principal defects of Christian theology.
It is through Christianity that Judaism has really conquered the world. Christianity is the masterpiece of Judaism...
Forgetfulness, and I would even say historical error, are essential in the creation of a nation.
Man makes holy what he believes as he makes beautiful what he loves.
Muslims are the first victims of Islam. To liberate a Muslim from his religion is the best service that one can render him!
A nation has a soul, a spiritual principle. One is in the past, the other in the present. One is the possession of a rich legacy of memories; the other is the desire to live together and to value the common heritage.