Quote by Christopher Hitchens

So this is where all the vapid talk about the 'soul' of the universe is actually headed. Once the hard-won principles of reason and science have been discredited, the world will not pass into the hands of credulous herbivores who keep crystals by their sides and swoon over the poems of Khalil Gibran. The 'vacuum' will be invaded instead by determined fundamentalists of every stripe who already know the truth by means of revelation and who actually seek real and serious power in the here and now. One thinks of the painstaking, cloud-dispelling labor of British scientists from Isaac Newton to Joseph Priestley to Charles Darwin to Ernest Rutherford to Alan Turing and Francis Crick, much of it built upon the shoulders of Galileo and Copernicus, only to see it casually slandered by a moral and intellectual weakling from the usurping House of Hanover. An awful embarrassment awaits the British if they do not declare for a republic based on verifiable laws and principles, both political and scientific.

Summary

This quote criticizes the idea that the rejection of reason and scientific principles could pave the way for a resurgence of determined fundamentalists who seek power based on revelation. The author laments the possibility that, if scientific achievements are discredited, the world may fall into the hands of individuals who hold irrational beliefs and prey on people's credulity. The mention of significant British scientists throughout history serves as a reminder of the importance of scientific progress and the potential consequences of undermining it. The quote concludes with a call for a republic based on verifiable laws and principles, both political and scientific, as a safeguard against such a scenario.