“The worst of madmen is a saint run mad.”
“Fervor is the weapon of choice of the impotent.”
“Fanaticism obliterates the feelings of humanity.”
“I carry from my mother's womb a fanatic's heart.”
“Wisdom becomes nonsense in the mouth of a fanatic.”
“There is no place in a fanatic's head where reason can enter.”
“A fanatic is a man who consciously over compensates a secret doubt.”
“Fanaticism soberly defined, is the false fire of an over heated mind.”
“In the history of mankind, fanaticism has caused more harm than vice.”
“A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.”
“If you see one cold and vehement at the same time, set him down for a fanatic.”
“Fanaticism consists in redoubling your efforts when you have forgotten your aim.”
“Fanatics are picturesque, mankind would rather see gestures than listen to reasons.”
“A fanatic is a man that does what he thinks the Lord would do if He knew the facts of the case.”
“Defined in psychological terms, a fanatic is a man who consciously over-compensates a secret doubt.”
“The fanatic is incorruptible: if he kills for an idea, he can just as well get himself killed for one; in either case, tyrant or martyr, he is a monster.”
“The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion.”
“Throughout human history, the apostles of purity, those who have claimed to possess a total explanation, have wrought havoc among mere mixed-up human beings.”
“Just as every conviction begins as a whim so does every emancipator serve his apprenticeship as a crank. A fanatic is a great leader who is just entering the room.”
“Mere human beings can't afford to be fanatical about anything. Not even about justice or loyalty. The fanatic for justice ends by murdering a million helpless people to clear a space for his law-courts. If we are to survive on this planet, there must be compromises.”
“In the fevered state of our country, no good can ever result from any attempt to set one of these fiery zealots to rights, either in fact or principle. They are determined as to the facts they will believe, and the opinions on which they will act. Get by them, therefore, as you would by an angry bull; it is not for a man of sense to dispute the road with such an animal.”