To kill a man will be considered as disgusting [in the twentieth century] as we in this day consider it disgusting to eat one.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the moral evolution of society, highlighting how actions once deemed acceptable can become abhorrent over time.
Andrew Carnegie's quote emphasizes the transformative nature of moral standards over time. He draws a parallel between the act of killing and the act of eating a human, suggesting that such reprehensible acts will eventually be viewed with equal disgust as society evolves. This serves as a commentary on changing ethical perceptions and the progress of humanity in recognizing the value of life.
In practice
In a speech addressing a human rights issue, one might remark, 'As Andrew Carnegie once said, killing a man should be as disgusting to us as eating one, prompting us to reflect on our moral values.'
Give me the life of the boy whose mother is nurse, seamstress, washerwoman, cook, teacher, angel, and saint, all in one, and whose father is guide, exemplar, and friend. No servants to come between. These are the boys who are born to the best fortune.
It is not the rich man's son that the young struggler for advancement has to fear in the race for life, nor his nephew, nor his cousin. Let him look out for the dark horse in the boy who begins by sweeping out the office.
You are what you think. So just think big, believe big, act big, work big, give big, forgive big, laugh big, love big and live big.
Speculation is a parasite feeding upon values, creating none.
Don't be content with doing only your duty. Do more than your duty. It's the horse that finishes a neck ahead that wins the race.
He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.
I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state.
It is as hard for the good to suspect evil, as it is for the bad to suspect good.
If the spiritual universe and the way to it were shown, No one would remain in this world for a single moment.
Emotional life is - alongside work - one of the great challenges of existence and is a theme that I keep returning to.
There cannot be perfect civilization until Man realizes that the rights of every living creature are as sacred as his own.
I can't for the life of me imagine that God would say, 'I will punish you because you are black; you should have been white. I will punish you because you are a woman; you should have been a man. I punish you because you are homosexual; you ought to have been heterosexual. I can't, I can't for the life of me believe that that is how God sees things.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.