Danger is the very basis of superstition. It produces a searching after help supernaturally when human means are no longer supposed to be available.
Benjamin HaydonMen of genius are often considered superstitious, but the fact is, the fineness of their nerve renders them more alive to the supernatural than ordinary men.
Benjamin HaydonHow difficult it is to get men to believe that any other man can or does act from disinterestedness!
Benjamin HaydonThe explanation of the propensity of the English people to portrait painting is to be found in their relish for a Fact. Let a man do the grandest things, fight the greatest battles, or be distinguished by the most brilliant personal heroism, yet the English people would prefer his portrait to a painting of the great deed. The likeness they can judge of; his existence is a Fact. But the truth of the picture of his deeds they cannot judge of, for they have no imagination.
Benjamin Haydon