Aethlos
CREED — Weltanschauung
I believe
that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind, that its modest
and greatly overestimated services on the ethical side have been more than
overcome by the damage it has done to clear and honest thinking.
I believe
that no discovery of fact, however trivial, can be wholly useless to the race,
and that no trumpeting of falsehood, however virtuous in intent, can be
anything but vicious.
I believe
that all government is evil, in that all government must necessarily make war
upon liberty.
I believe
that the evidence for immortality is no better than the evidence of witches,
and deserves no more respect.
I believe
in the complete freedom of thought and speech.
I believe
in the capacity of man to conquer his world, and to find out what it is made
of, and how it is run.
I believe
in the reality of progress.
I believe
that it is better to tell the truth than to lie. I believe that it is better to be free than
to be a slave. And I believe that it is
better to know than be ignorant.
[Written
by Henry Louis Mencken]