[WT Sharpe]

.....It is so much easier to assume than to prove; it is so much less painful to believe than to doubt; there is such a charm in the repose of prejudice, when no discordant voice jars upon the harmony of belief; there is such a thrilling pang when cherished dreams are scattered, and old creeds abandoned, that it is not surprising that men close their eyes to the unwelcome light.
..........— W(illiam) E(dward) H(artpole) Lecky (1838-1903), Irish essayist, historian. History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe, Vol. II, Second Edition (1865), pages 104-105.