The loss of the religious understanding of the human condition —
that Man is a fallen creature for whom virtue is necessary but
never fully attainable — is a loss,
not a gain, in true sophistication.
The secular substitute — the belief in the perfection of life
on earth by the endless extension of a choice of pleasures —
is not merely callow by comparison
but much less realistic in its understanding of human nature.”
( Theo. Dalrymple )