I demand of you, and of the whole world, that you show me a generic character... by which to distinguish between Man and Ape. I myself most assuredly know of none.
Interpretation
This quote questions the distinction between humans and apes, emphasizing the blurred lines in our understanding of identity.
Carl Linnaeus challenges the notion of a clear-cut separation between humans and apes, suggesting that the characteristics we attribute to humanity might not be as unique as we believe. His assertion invites deeper philosophical inquiries into the nature of existence, our self-perception, and the criteria we use to define what it means to be human as compared to other species.
In practice
In a lecture on evolutionary biology, you might use this quote to illustrate the connection between humans and primates.
Of what use are the great number of petrifactions, of different species, shape and form which are dug up by naturalists? Perhaps the collection of such specimens is sheer vanity and inquisitiveness. I do not presume to say; but we find in our mountains the rarest animals, shells, mussels, and corals embalmed in stone, as it were, living specimens of which are now being sought in vain throughout Europe. These stones alone whisper in the midst of general silence.
There are as many species as the infinite being created diverse forms in the beginning, which, following the laws of generation, produced many others, but always similar to them: therefore there are as many species as we have different structures before us today.
Blessed be the Lord for the beauty of summer and spring, for the air, the water, the verdure, and the song of birds.
A professor can never better distinguish himself in his work than by encouraging a clever pupil, for the true discovers are among them, as comets amongst the stars.
"My insides don't match up with my outsides." "Do anyone's inside and outsides match up?" "I don't know. I'm only me." "Maybe that's what a person's personality is: the difference between the inside and the outside."
A lifelong intimacy with animals has got me out of the common notion that they are automata with a slight infusion of intelligence in their composition. The mind in beast and bird, as in man, is the main thing.
The Bible says that God has a reason for keeping us here; if He didn't, He would take us to Heaven far sooner.
More than ever I find myself in the hands of God. This (illness) is what I have wanted all my life from my youth. But now there is a difference; the initiative is entirely with God. It is indeed a profound spiritual experience to know and feel myself so totally in God’s hands.
Myths are public dreams; dreams are private myths. By finding your own dream and following it through, it will lead you to the myth-world in which you live. But just as in dream, the subject and object, though they seem to be separate, are really the same.
To define Buddhism without a lot of words and phrases, we can simply say, 'Don't cling or hold on to anything. Harmonize with actuality, with things as they are.'
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.