Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
For this world that men have made, none of us is bad enough. For the world that made us, none is good enough.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that human flaws are created by societal conditions, and no one can be deemed wholly good in the context of those conditions.
Edward Abbey's quote reflects on the duality of human nature and society. It implies that the faults and failings of individuals are often a reflection of the world they inhabit, emphasizing that while society might shape us in a negative way, it also reveals the inherent challenges of goodness. The dichotomy suggests that the structures and issues of the world are so complex that true goodness is unattainable within its confines, thus provoking contemplation on our moral standings and the societal constructs we live by.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the impact of society on personal morality, this quote could highlight the complexities of human behavior.
More from Edward Abbey
All quotes βI love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Similar quotes
Men's ideas are the most direct emanations of their material state.
Here is a man whose life and actions the world has already condemned - yet whose enormous fortune...has already brought him acquittal!
Guns go home with the soldiers, but landmines are designed to kill - mindlessly, out of control, for years.
We don't even know what our desire is. We ask other people to tell us our desires. We would like our desires to come from our deepest selves, our personal depths - but if it did, it would not be desire. Desire is always for something we feel we lack.
There are too many of us, he thought. There are billions of us and that's too many. Nobody knows anyone. Strangers come and violate you. Strangers come and cut your heart out. Strangers come and take your blood. Good God, who were those men? I never saw them before in my life!
All wars are follies, very expensive and very mischievous ones.