Living creatures possess a moving soul and a certain spiritual superiority which in this respect make them similar to those who possess intellect (people) and they have the power of affecting their welfare and their food and they flee from pain and death.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the spiritual and intellectual similarities between living creatures and humans.
Nahmanides emphasizes the idea that all living beings share a soul and a sense of spirituality, leading to a similarity with humans. This shared essence grants animals the ability to seek their own welfare and escape from suffering, suggesting a profound interconnectedness between all forms of life.
In practice
In a speech about animal rights, one might quote Nahmanides to highlight the spiritual nature of all living beings.
It is quite clear that beauty does depend on one's culture and upbringing for certain kinds of beauty, pictures, literature, poetry and so on...But mathematical beauty is of a rather different kind. I should say perhaps it is of a completely different kind and transcends these personal factors. It is the same in all countries and at all periods of time.
If, sir, men were all virtuous, I should with great alacrity teach them all to fly. But what would be the security of the good if the bad could at pleasure invade them from the sky? Against an army sailing through the clouds neither wall, nor mountains, nor seas could afford any security.
Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare.
Besides reasoning about matters of fact, men also make moral judgements.
It is true that we are called to create a better world. But we are first of all called to a more immediate and exalted task: that of creating our own lives.
When the mind soars in pursuit of the things conceived in space...it pursues emptiness; but when man dives deep within himself, he experiences the fullness of existence.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.