A state of skepticism and suspense may amuse a few inquisitive minds. But the practice of superstition is so congenial to the multitude that, if they are forcibly awakened, they still regret the loss of their pleasing vision.
Edward Gibbon, Henry Hart Milman, M. Guizot (François), William Smith (1872). “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, p.68