Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth - more than ruin, more even than death. Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible; thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions and comfortable habits; thought is anarchic and lawless, indifferent to authority, careless of the well-tried wisdom of ages. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. It sees man, a feeble speck, surrounded by silence that cannot be explained; yet it bears itself proudly, as unmoved as if it were lord of the universe. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world and the chief of glory of man.
But if thought is to become the possession of many, not the privilege of the few, we must eradicate fear. It is fear that holds men back - fear that their cherished beliefs should prove delusions, fear that the institutions by which they live should prove harmful, fear that they themselves should prove less worthy of respect than they have supposed themselves to be so.