“Give a drink of water as alms to the birds which go forth at morning, and deem that they have a better right than men [to thy charity].”

The world holds two classes of men; intelligent men without religion, and religious men without intelligence.

They recite their sacred books, although the fact informs me that these are a fiction from first to last.

O fools, awake! The rites ye sacred hold Are but a cheat contrived by men of old Who lusted after wealth and gained their lust And died in baseness-and their law is dust.

O Reason, thou (alone) speakest the truth. Then perish the fools who forged the (religious) traditions or interpreted them!

The inhabitants of the earth are of two sorts.

There are two kinds of humans – the intelligent, who have no religion, and the religious, who have no intellect.

For their race brings not harm upon thee in any wise, when thou fearest it from thine own race.

We mortals are composed of two great schools Enlightened knaves or else religious fools.

And a perpetual loss I feel if, knowing, I believe a falsehood or deny the truth.

Those with brains, but no religion, And those with religion, but no brains.

Hanifs (Muslims) are stumbling, Christians all astray Jews wildered, Magians far on error’s way.

Reason forbade me many things which, Instinctively, my nature was attracted to;

A little doubt is better than total credulity.

They all err – Muslims, Christians, Jews and Magians.