The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man be trusted.

- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Question: Was Shakespeare writing about all politicians, or just about neo-conservatives?

Note: The emphasis in the last line of the quotation is mine, not the author's.

Or this:

And a few more:

"I count religion but a childish toy,
And hold there is no sin but ignorance."

- Christopher Marlowe, 1564-93
The Jew of Malta, 1588

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully
as when they do it from religious conviction."

- Blaise Pascal, 1623-62

"Man is a religious animal.
He is the only animal that has the True Religion -- several of them.
He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself
and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight."

"O Lord our Father
... help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells;
... help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain;
... help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire;
... We ask it in the spirit of love, ... Amen."

- Mark Twain, 1835-1910