“ Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last. ”
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (16 October 1847). copy citation
| Author | Charlotte Brontë |
|---|---|
| Source | Jane Eyre |
| Topic | religion morality |
| Date | 16 October 1847 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1260/1260-h/1260-h.htm |
Context
“I mean the timorous or carping few who doubt the tendency of such books as «Jane Eyre:» in whose eyes whatever is unusual is wrong; whose ears detect in each protest against bigotry—that parent of crime—an insult to piety, that regent of God on earth. I would suggest to such doubters certain obvious distinctions; I would remind them of certain simple truths.
Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last. To pluck the mask from the face of the Pharisee, is not to lift an impious hand to the Crown of Thorns.
These things and deeds are diametrically opposed: they are as distinct as is vice from virtue.” source
Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last. To pluck the mask from the face of the Pharisee, is not to lift an impious hand to the Crown of Thorns.
These things and deeds are diametrically opposed: they are as distinct as is vice from virtue.” source
Meaning and analysis
