You might sooner get lightning out of incense smoke than true action or passion out of your modern English religion.

John Ruskin’s quote, "You might sooner get lightning out of incense smoke than true action or passion out of your modern English religion," critiques what he sees as the lack of vitality and authenticity in contemporary religious practice in England. By comparing the impossible task of getting lightning from incense smoke to the absence of true spiritual fervor in modern English religion, Ruskin suggests that organized religion, as it is practiced in his time, is lifeless, ritualistic, and disconnected from the genuine passion and action that should characterize true faith. He implies that religious practices have become shallow, reduced to empty rituals rather than being deeply transformative or inspiring.

Ruskin, a prominent Victorian writer and social critic, was concerned with the decline of genuine religious enthusiasm and the rise of institutionalized religion that focused more on form than on substance. His critique was aimed at the way religion in England had become entangled with social and political structures, losing its spiritual depth and capacity to incite personal transformation. For Ruskin, true religion should spark passion and action, challenging individuals to live according to their highest moral and spiritual ideals, rather than simply adhering to rituals and dogma.

The mention of lightning and incense smoke serves as a vivid metaphor to illustrate the impossibility of experiencing true spiritual power or change in a context where religion has become overly institutionalized and detached from the individual’s emotional and spiritual experience. Ruskin’s words reflect a broader Victorian disillusionment with the formality and materialism that were often associated with the church at the time, especially in an era marked by industrialization and social inequality.

Ultimately, Ruskin’s quote is a call for a revitalization of religion—one that emphasizes genuine passion and active engagement with life’s deeper moral questions, rather than merely going through the motions of religious practice. He urges a return to a more authentic form of faith, one that inspires people to act with purpose and passion, and to seek a deeper connection with the divine and with the world around them.