1001Philosophers

John Toland Quotes

John Toland was an Irish-born freethinker, political pamphleteer, and one of the most controversial English-language philosophers of the early Enlightenment. Educated at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leiden, and Oxford, he wrote in support of religious tolerance, a free press, and the constitutional achievements of the Glorious Revolution. The quotes below are attributed to John Toland, organized by topic.

John Toland on Freedom

  • Attributed to John Toland:

    “A free press is the surest defence of a free people.”

John Toland on God

  • Attributed to John Toland:

    “Whatever is contrary to reason can be no part of true religion.”

  • Attributed to John Toland:

    “Pantheism is the worship of the universe as the only divine.”

  • Attributed to John Toland:

    “Mystery has too often been used to disguise the absence of meaning.”

John Toland on Nature

  • Attributed to John Toland:

    “All matter is essentially active.”