“There can be, therefore, no true education without moral culture, and no true moral culture without Christianity. The very power of the teacher in the school-room is either moral or it is a degrading, brute force. But he can show the child no other moral basis for it than the Bible. Hence my argument is as perfect as clear. The teacher must be a Christian. But the American Commonwealth has promised to have no religious character. Then it cannot be teacher.” — Robert L. Dabney, “The State Free School System,” in Discussions, 4:222–23.