I do not want chemistry to degenerate into a religion; I do not want the chemist to believe in the existence of atoms as the Christian believes in the existence of Christ in the communion...

Is it true that man was once perfectly pure and innocent, and that he became degenerate by disobedience? No. The real truth is, and the history of man shows, that he has advanced. Events, like...

Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms.

You can either grow or degenerate. Either of these is happening all around you, all the time. There is nothing called a “safe comfort zone”. This is a convenient name depicting the process of degeneration.