I have never known any distress that an hour's reading did not relieve.
There is something in animals beside the power of motion. They are not machines; they feel.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights that animals possess feelings and emotions, beyond just their physical abilities.
In this quote, Baron De Montesquieu emphasizes the idea that animals are not mere mechanistic beings but rather sentient creatures capable of feeling. This perspective encourages empathy towards animals, recognizing them as beings with emotional experiences rather than just instruments or tools for human use. The quote challenges us to reconsider our relationship with animals, urging us to acknowledge their capacity for emotion and the importance of treating them with respect and care.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about animal rights, this quote can be used to emphasize the emotional lives of animals.
More from Baron De Montesquieu
All quotes βLaw in general is human reason, inasmuch as it governs all the inhabitants of the earth: the political and civil laws of each nation ought to be only the particular cases in which human reason is applied.
To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.
Love of the republic in a democracy, is a love of the democracy; love of the democracy is that of equality. Love of the democracy is likewise that of frugality.
It is not the young people that degenerate; they are not spoiled till those of mature age are already sunk into corruption.
If you would be holy, instruct your children, because all the good acts they perform will be imputed to you.
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Over the years I have come to believe that life is full of unchosen circumstances, that being human has to do with the evolution of our individual consciousness and with it, responsibilities for choice. Pain and joy both come with life. I believe that how we respond to what happens to us and around us shapes who we become and has to do with the psyche or the soul's growth.
No tree becomes rooted and sturdy unless many a wind assails it. For by its very tossing it tightens its grip and plants its roots more securely; the fragile trees are those that have grown in a sunny valley.
There is nothing stable in the world; uproar's your only music.
I think the 'Terminator' idea is a reasonable one - that is that one day the Internet becomes self-aware and simply says that humans are in the way. After all, if you meet an ant hill and you're making a 10-lane super highway, you just pave over the ants. It's not that you don't like the ants, it's not that you hate ants; they are just in the way.