Bertrand Russell Quotes


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The Protestant whose moral feelings are strong usurps the ethical functions of the priest, and acquires a quasi-governmental attitude towards other people's virtues and vices, especially the latter :
Ye've naught to do but mark and tell
Your neighbours' faults and folly.
This is not anarchy; it is democracy.
(Namely, Envy is the basis of democracy.)
　Source:　Power, 1938.
　More Info.：https://russell-j.com/beginner/POWER15_110.HTM

* a brief comment:
When I asked ChatGPT about the source of the phrase "Ye've naught to ..." quoted in "Today's Words of Russell," I received the following answer:
The lines "Ye've naught to do but mark and tell / Your neighbours' faults and folly." are quoted from The Holy Fair (1785), a poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. This poem satirically depicts the hypocrisy and formalism of religious gatherings (Holy Fairs) in 18th-century Scotland, and the quoted lines mock the attitude of religious people who take pleasure in pointing out others' faults and foolishness.
Through this quotation, Russell criticizes how those with strong Protestant moral feelings come to occupy a kind of authoritative position by monitoring and condemning others' vices.
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