What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
If you strike a child, take care that you strike it in anger, even at the risk of maiming it for life. A blow in cold blood neither can nor should be forgiven.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote discusses the moral considerations of inflicting harm, particularly on children, emphasizing the weight of intentionality in such actions.
George Bernard Shaw's quote reflects on the serious implications of violence, especially towards vulnerable individuals like children. It suggests that when one acts in a moment of anger, there is some element of humanity in the response, but a calculated act of violence performed in cold blood is unforgivable. This highlights the differencing moral weight of actions based on emotional intention.
Themes
ViolenceChildrenMoral ResponsibilityAngerForgiveness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a seminar on child psychology to emphasize the importance of emotional awareness in parenting.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes →Marriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
George Bernard ShawRead
Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
George Bernard ShawRead
Those who talk most about the blessings of marriage and the constancy of its vows are the very people who declare that if the chain were broken and the prisoners left free to choose, the whole social fabric would fly asunder. You cannot have the argument both ways. If the prisoner is happy, why lock him in? If he is not, why pretend that he is?
George Bernard ShawRead
Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
George Bernard ShawRead
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
George Bernard ShawRead
Similar quotes
'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,' - that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
John KeatsRead
The logic of the world is prior to all truth and falsehood.
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
The great man, Genghis Khan, only knew how to shoot eagles with an arrow. The past is past. To see real heroes, look around you.
Mao ZedongRead
Under our system every voter and officeholder is a man who has demonstrated through voluntary and difficult service that he places the welfare of the group ahead of personal advantage.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
The only journey is the one within.
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
Great men are almost always bad men.
Lord ActonRead