He that has not religion to govern his morality, is not a dram better than my mastiff-dog; so long as you stroke him, and please him, and do not pinch him, he will play with you as finely as may be, he is a very good moral mastiff; but if you hurt him, he will fly in your face, and tear out your throat.
John Selden (1800). “The Table-talk: Of John Selden, Esq. Being His Sense of Various Matters of Weight and High Consequence; Relating Especially to Religion and State”, p.75
