“So great the evils which religion could prompt.”Lucretius · Despre natura lucrurilor · -55 · Cartea I, versul 101
Religion can motivate atrocities through fear of divine punishment.
Lucretius, an Epicurean poet and philosopher, criticizes religious superstition that, in the name of gods, has justified atrocities. He cites the sacrifice of Iphigenia, killed by her own father to appease an imaginary storm. The mechanism is fear of divine punishment, which makes people commit acts they would otherwise reject.
Why it matters Today, the phrase warns against any ideology that demands suffering in the name of a higher ideal, whether religious or political.