To be able to think freely, a man must be certain that no consequence will follow whatever he writes.
Ernest RenanMuslims are the first victims of Islam. To liberate a Muslim from his religion is the best service that one can render him!
Ernest RenanAs soon as sacrifice becomes a duty and necessity to mankind. I see no limit to the horizon which opens before him.
Ernest RenanIt is evident, indeed, that such a doctrine, taken by itself in a literal manner, had no future. The world, in continuing to exist, caused it to crumble. One generation of man at the most was the limit of its endurance. The faith of the first Christian generation is intelligible, but the faith of the second generation is no longer so. After the death of John, or of the last survivor, whoever he might be, of the group which had seen the master, the word of Jesus was convicted of falsehood.
Ernest Renan