What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
I am oppressed with a dread of living forever. That is the only disadvantage of vegetarianism.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a concern about eternal life in the context of a vegetarian lifestyle, highlighting a fear of its implications.
George Bernard Shaw's quote encapsulates a philosophical viewpoint regarding the nature of life and the burdens that come with existence. While he appreciates vegetarianism, he expresses a profound dread of the endless cycle of living, suggesting that the notion of immortality can be daunting. It hints at the complexity of life choices and the deeper existential questions they can raise, notably the desire for a meaningful life versus the fear of an unending one.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate about lifestyle choices at a health seminar, this quote can illustrate the complexities of living forever.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes βMarriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
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?
Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
Similar quotes
Since faith rests upon infallible truth, and since the contrary of a truth can never be demonstrated, it is clear that the arguments brought against faith cannot be demonstrations, but are difficulties that can be answered.
No theory ever agrees with all the facts in its domain, yet it is not always the theory that is to blame. Facts are constituted by older ideologies, and a clash between facts and theories may be proof of progress. It is also a first step in our attempt to find the principles implicit in familiar observational notions.
The laws of nature are the rules according to which the effects are produced; but there must be a cause which operates according to these rules. The laws of navigation never navigated a ship. The rules of architecture never built a house.
[T]he truth is that fullness of soul can sometimes overflow in utter vapidity of language, for none of us can ever express the exact measure of his needs or his thoughts or his sorrows; and human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars.
We must remember that the people of all the States are entitled to all the privileges and immunities of the citizen of the several States. We should bear this in mind, and act in such a way as to say nothing insulting or irritating. I would inculcate this idea, so that we may not, like Pharisees, set ourselves up to be better than other people.
Can there be in our age any peace that is not honorable, any war that is not dishonorable?