Yuval Noah Harari

Religion can... be defined..[:] a system of human laws... founded on a belief in superhuman laws.

In our time, 'imperialist' ranks second only to 'fascist' in the of political swear words.

According to Nazis, Homo sapiens had already divided into several races, the Aryan race, had the finest qualities ― rationalism, beauty, integrity, diligence... [and] the potential to turn... into superman. Other races... possessing inferior qualities... [i]f allowed to breed... with Aryans... would adulterate... and doom Homo sapiens to extinction.

Gautama... attained nirvana... fully liberated from suffering. Henceforth... as 'Buddha'.., 'The Enlightened One'.., spent... his life explaining his discoveries... in a single law: ...to be ...liberated from suffering is to be ...liberated from craving; and the only way ...is to train the mind to experience reality as it is.

Most past cultures have... fallen prey to the armies of some ruthless empire, which... consigned them to oblivion. Empires... ultimately fall, but... tend to leave behind rich.., enduring legacies.

[M]ost imperial elites... believed that they were working for the general welfare of... inhabitants. China's ruling class treated... neighbours and... foreign subjects as... barbarians to whom the empire must bring... culture. The was bestowed upon the emperor not... to exploit... but... to educate humanity.

Gnostics and Manichaeans argued... the good god created the spirit and soul.., matter and bodies are... of the evil god. Man... serves as a battleground...

Only in the fifteenth century - almost 600 years after the invention of the gunpowder - did s become a decisive factor...

Christians began... widespread missionary activities... In one of history's strangest twists, this esoteric Jewish sect took over the... Roman Empire.

[T]he prophet Muhammad began... by condemning... fellow Arabs for living in ignorance of the divine truth. Yet Muhammad... argue[d] that he knew the full truth, and... followers began calling him 'the '.

The only god that the Romans long refused to tolerate was the monotheistic... evangelising god of the Christians.

Mere observations... are not knowledge. ...[T]o understand the universe, we need ...theories. Earlier traditions usually formulated... theories... [as] stories. Modern science uses mathematics.