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He reflected on the decay of mankind-the decline of the human race into folly and weakness and rottenness. 'Be a good animal, true to your animal instinct' was his motto.
D. H. Lawrence
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the decline of humanity and suggests embracing our natural instincts.

D. H. Lawrence reflects on the perceived deterioration of human nature, indicating a shift towards folly and weakness. In this context, he promotes the idea of being authentic and true to one's instincts, implying that embracing our primal qualities may be a path back to a more genuine existence amid societal decay.

Themes

HumanityInstinctDecayPhilosophyAuthenticity

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion on human nature, one might quote Lawrence to emphasize the need for embracing our instincts.

More from D. H. Lawrence

God how I hate new countries: They are older than the old, more sophisticated, much more conceited, only young in a certain puerile vanity more like senility than anything.
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A young man is afraid of his demon and puts his hand over the demon's mouth sometimes and speaks for him. And the things the young man says are very rarely poetry.
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And besides, look at elder flowers and bluebells-they are a sign that pure creation takes place - even the butterfly. But humanity never gets beyond the caterpillar stage -it rots in the chrysalis, it never will have wings.It is anti-creation, like monkeys and baboons.
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The Christian fear of the pagan outlook has damaged the whole consciousness of man.
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The cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still parts. The sun is a great heart whose tremors run through our smallest veins. The moon is a great nerve center from which we quiver forever. Who knows the power that Saturn has over us, or Venus? But it is a vital power, rippling exquisitely through us all the time.
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... he preferred his own madness, to the regular sanity. He rejoiced in his own madness, he was free. He did not want that old sanity of the world, which was become so repulsive. He rejoiced in the new-found world of his madness. It was so fresh and delicate and so satisfying.
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Quote by D. H. Lawrence | QuoteProject