What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard ShawRead
Men are not governed by justice, but by law or persuasion. When they refuse to be governed by law or persuasion, they have to be governed by force or fraud, or both.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that human behavior is shaped more by laws and persuasion than by a sense of justice.
George Bernard Shaw's quote highlights the complexities of human governance and societal order. It implies that while justice should ideally guide individuals' actions, in reality, humans are more effectively influenced by laws or persuasive arguments. When these fail to govern behavior, individuals resort to force or deceit, indicating a breakdown in moral and ethical considerations. This statement reflects on the nature of authority and the reasons behind human compliance or rebellion.
Themes
JusticeLawPersuasionForceFraud
In practice
Example use cases
To discuss the challenges of maintaining order in a society, especially in a political debate.
More from George Bernard Shaw
All quotes →Marriage is good enough for the lower classes: they have facilities for desertion that are denied to us.
George Bernard ShawRead
Forgive him, for he believes that the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature!
George Bernard ShawRead
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?
George Bernard ShawRead
Treat a friend as a person who may someday become your enemy; an enemy as a person who may someday become your friend.
George Bernard ShawRead
The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.
George Bernard ShawRead
Similar quotes
The best argument I know for an immortal life is the existence of a man who deserves one.
William JamesRead
I sense the world might be more dreamlike, metaphorical, and poetic than we currently believe--but just as irrational as sympathetic magic when looked at in a typically scientific way. I wouldn't be surprised if poetry--poetry in the broadest sense, in the sense of a world filled with metaphor, rhyme, and recurring patterns, shapes, and designs--is how the world works. The world isn't logical, it's a song.
David ByrneRead
If I devote myself to other pursuits and contemplations, I must first see, at least, that I do not pursue them sitting upon another man's shoulders. I must get off him first, that he may pursue his contemplations too.
Henry David ThoreauRead
God is not troubled by one who is conservative or liberal, and He certainly never inclines His ear toward a donkey or an elephant.
Max LucadoRead
A romantic or classical view of the French approach would have been to say, 'It's a French company; let no one attack it. Let's block any merger. But the reality is Alcatel-Lucent is not a French company; it's a global company. Its main markets are China and the U.S. Its ownership is foreign; most of its managers aren't French.
Emmanuel MacronRead
I shall consider human actions and desires in exactly the same manner, as though I were concerned with lines, planes and solids.
Baruch SpinozaRead