Man," said the Ghost, "if man you be in heart, not adamant, forbear that wicked cant until you have discovered What the surplus is, and Where it is. Will you decide what men shall live, what men shall die?
Interpretation
This quote questions the moral authority of humans over life and death, suggesting we should understand our responsibility before making such decisions.
In this quote from Charles Dickens, the Ghost prompts us to reflect on the weight of our judgments regarding life and death. It challenges the reader to consider whether humanity has the right to decide who deserves to live or die, questioning our moral compass and the significance of truly understanding our decisions before acting upon them.
In practice
This quote could be used in a debate on human rights and ethical decision-making.
I recollected one story there was in the village, how that on a certain night in the year (it might be that very night for anything I knew), all the dead people came out of the ground and sat at the heads of their own graves till morning.
A silent look of affection and regard when all other eyes are turned coldly away-the consciousness that we possess the sympathy and affection of one being when all others have deserted us-is a hold, a stay, a comfort, in the deepest affliction, which no wealth could purchase, or power bestow.
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
There are not a few among the disciples of charity who require, in their vocation, scarcely less excitement than the votaries of pleasure in theirs.
You might, from your appearance, be the wife of Lucifer,” said Miss Pross, in her breathing. “Nevertheless, you shall not get the better of me. I am an Englishwoman.
Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man's pockets.
The laws recognize no obligation on the part of the slave to labor for or serve his master. If he refuse to labor, the law will not interfere to compel him. The master must do his own flogging, as in the case of an ox or a horse.
All abstract sciences are nothing but the study of relations between signs.
There is no evildoer who could not be made good for something.
No one is truly free, they are a slave to wealth, fortune, the law, or other people restraining them from acting according to their will.
So much of liberalism in its classical sense is taken for granted in the west today and even disrespected. We take freedom for granted, and because of this we don't understand how incredibly vulnerable it is.
Everything that touches YOUR life, must be an instrument of YOUR liberation or tossed into the trash cans of HISTORY
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.