I must take issue with the term 'a mere child,' for it has been my invariable experience that the company of a mere child is infinitely preferable to that of a mere adult.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the value of children's company over that of adults, challenging the perception of childhood as insignificant.
In this quote, Fran Lebowitz reflects on the idea that children possess a unique perspective and authenticity that can often surpass that of adults. She argues against the dismissive term 'a mere child,' suggesting that the simplicity and honesty of children make their companionship far more enriching and preferable than that of adults, who may become weighed down by complexity and societal expectations.
In practice
In a speech about children's role in society, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of valuing their opinions.
Your responsibility as a parent is not as great as you might imagine. You need not supply the world with the next conqueror of disease or major motion picture star. If your child simply grows up to be someone who does not use the word "collectible" as a noun, you can consider yourself an unqualified success.
You should make it hard on yourself to write so you’re easier to read.
Special-interest publications should realize that if they are attracting enough advertising and readers to make a profit, the interest is not so special.
I place a high moral value on the way people behave. I find it repellent to have a lot, and to behave with anything other than courtesy in the old sense of the word - politeness of the heart, a gentleness of the spirit.
Original thought is like original sin: both happened before you were born to people you could not have possibly met.
I never took hallucinogenic drugs because I never wanted my consciousness expanded one unnecessary iota.
There's nothing I did wrong. I was just born in North Korea, and that was my crime.
I considered mores to be one of the great general causes responsible for the maintenance of a democratic republic . . . the term "mores" . . . meaning . . . habits of the heart.
With the magnificence of eternity before us, let time, with all its fluctuations, dwindle into its own littleness.
If you destroyed half the pharmaceutical production in the United States, we'd think it's a pretty serious problem. In fact, we'd probably go to war.
Woe to him who doesn't know how to wear his mask, be he king or pope!
Each soul is a star and all stars are set in the infinite azure, the eternal sky-the Lord.
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