Reverence is the highest quality of man’s nature; and that individual, or nation, which has it slightly developed, is so far unfortunate. It is a strong spiritual instinct, and seeks to form channels for itself where none exists; thus Americans, in the dearth of other objects to worship, fall to worshipping themselves.
ATTRIBUTION:
Lydia M. Child (1802–1880), U.S. abolitionist, writer, editor. Letter, May 26, 1843. Letters from New York, vol. 1, letter 18 (1843).
