#pretension

He(Prophet Muhammad) was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretensions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue; if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports. ↗

— Reverend B. Smith

#atheist #bodyguard #caesar #christian #divine

Pretensions to moral superiority are devastatingly destructive. ↗

— Mary Douglas

#moral #pretensions #superiority

The television critic, whatever his pretensions, does not labour in the same vineyard as those he criticizes; his grapes are all sour. ↗

— Frederic Raphael

#criticizes #does #grapes #his #labour

He had perfected the art of looking interested, and could grasp in surprise at any and every predictable punchline. ↗

— Ian Rankin Doors Open

#art