Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on humanity's unique capacity for cruelty, suggesting that humans have the ability to inflict pain without necessity or survival instinct.
Mark Twain's quote examines the darker aspects of human nature, highlighting that unlike animals which may cause harm instinctively for survival, humans are capable of cruelty purely for entertainment or pleasure. This implies a moral and ethical scrutiny of human behavior, presenting a thought-provoking view on what it means to be human in the context of morality and empathy.
In practice
During a discussion on human morality, one could use this quote to illustrate the unique ethical capacity of humans.
Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
There is the "you" that people see and then there is the "rest of you". Take some time and craft a picture of the "rest of you." This could be a drawing, in words, even a song. Just remember that the chances are good it will be full of paradox and contradictions.
When God had made The Man, he made him out of stuff that sung all the time and glittered all over. Some angels got jealous and chopped him into millions of pieces, but still he glittered and hummed. So they beat him down to nothing but sparks but each little spark had a shine and a song. So they covered each one over with mud. And the lonesomeness in the sparks make them hunt for one another.
Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth.
Down in Denver, all I did was die.
No one may threaten or commit violence ('aggress') against another man's person or property. Violence may be employed only against the man who commits such violence; that is, only defensively against the aggressive violence of another. In short, no violence may be employed against a non-aggressor. Here is the fundamental rule from which can be deduced the entire corpus of libertarian theory.
Josh: So, Toby, itβs election night. What do you say about a country that goes out of its way to protect even those citizens that try to destroy it? Toby: God bless America.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.