| The Columbia World of Quotations. 1996. |
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| NUMBER: | 12263 |
| QUOTATION: | 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). |
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| | | The Columbia World of Quotations. Copyright © 1996 Columbia University Press. |
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