"The Gospel having spread itself into Persia, the pagan priests, who worshipped the sun, were greatly alarmed, and dreaded the loss of that influence they had hitherto maintained over the people's minds and properties"
About this Quote
The intent is polemical and Protestant. Writing in Reformation England, Foxe’s larger project (most famously in Acts and Monuments) was to cast the true church as perpetually embattled and to frame opposition as predictable corruption. By locating the same pattern in distant Persia, he universalizes the Protestant story: wherever the Gospel advances, entrenched priesthoods panic because their power depends on controlling conscience and extracting material support. “Influence” is the keyword - faith becomes a contest over who gets to author the public mind.
The subtext also works as a domestic warning. In 16th-century England, “priests” and “properties” evokes the Catholic Church’s wealth, tithes, and institutional reach. Foxe can’t accuse every opponent of bad doctrine and expect it to stick; accusing them of protecting a business model is harder to defend against. Even the choice of “sun” worship is strategic: it paints the rival clergy as both primitive and theatrical, a bright spectacle masking a darker motive.
Quote Details
| Topic | Bible |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Foxe, John. (2026, January 17). The Gospel having spread itself into Persia, the pagan priests, who worshipped the sun, were greatly alarmed, and dreaded the loss of that influence they had hitherto maintained over the people's minds and properties. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-gospel-having-spread-itself-into-persia-the-80320/
Chicago Style
Foxe, John. "The Gospel having spread itself into Persia, the pagan priests, who worshipped the sun, were greatly alarmed, and dreaded the loss of that influence they had hitherto maintained over the people's minds and properties." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-gospel-having-spread-itself-into-persia-the-80320/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The Gospel having spread itself into Persia, the pagan priests, who worshipped the sun, were greatly alarmed, and dreaded the loss of that influence they had hitherto maintained over the people's minds and properties." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-gospel-having-spread-itself-into-persia-the-80320/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.
