It may be a question whether machinery does not encumber; whether we have not lost by refinement some energy, by a Christianity entrenched in establishments and forms, some vigor of wild virtue. For every Stoic was a Stoic; but in Christendom where is the Christian?

Summary

This quote reflects on the potential drawbacks of societal progress and the institutionalization of religious beliefs. The speaker questions whether the rise of machinery has only burdened society rather than improving it. They also ponder whether the refinement of Christianity, with its formalities and established institutions, has inadvertently diminished the genuine qualities of virtue found in more untamed and unregulated systems like Stoicism. The quote ultimately exposes a concern for the loss of authenticity and genuine faith in an increasingly organized and mechanized world.

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