"Let judges secretly despair of justice: their verdicts will be more acute. Let generals secretly despair of triumph killing will be defamed. Let priests secretly despair of faith: their compassion will be true."

Religion

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Insight & Reflection

When Leonard Cohen speaks about religion, it invites us to pause and reflect on our own journey. How often do we consider the subtle impacts of religion in our daily lives? This thought-provoking perspective challenges conventional wisdom and encourages a deeper understanding of ourselves.

About Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, social and political conflict, sexual and romantic love, desire, regret, and loss. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011, he received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize. In 2023, Rolling Stone magazine named Cohen the 103rd-greatest singer of all time.

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the ShortQuote Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Leonard Cohen

"Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash."

— Leonard Cohen
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"Women stand for the objective world for a man. They stand for the thing that you're not and that's what you always reach for in a song."

— Leonard Cohen
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"To every people the land is given on condition. Perceived or not, there is a Covenant, beyond the constitution, beyond sovereign guarantee, beyond the nation's sweetest dreams of itself."

— Leonard Cohen
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"I always thought that poetry is the verdict that others give to a certain kind of writing. So to call yourself a poet is a kind of dangerous description. It's for others it's for others to use."

— Leonard Cohen
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More about Religion

"You often feel that your prayers scarcely reach the ceiling but, oh, get into this humble spirit by considering how good the Lord is, and how evil you all are, and then prayer will mount on wings of faith to heaven."

— Charles Simeon
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"A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."

— Francis Bacon
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"Let peace, descending from her native heaven, bid her olives spring amidst the joyful nations and plenty, in league with commerce, scatter blessings from her copious hand!"

— Daniel Boone
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"There can be no truce between science and religion."

— John B. S. Haldane
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