WIST Quotations

Lorenz, Konrad -- On Aggression, ch. 12 “On the Virtue of Scientific Humility” (1963)

Dave — Mon, 01 May 2017 22:11:05 +0000

If I thought of man as the final image of God, I should not know what to think of God. But when I consider that our ancestors, at a time fairly recent in relation to the earth’s history, were perfectly ordinary apes, closely related to chimpanzees, I see a glimmer of hope. It does not require very great optimism to assume that from us human beings something better and higher may evolve. Far from seeing in man the irrevocable and unsurpassable image of God, I assert — more modestly and, I believe, in greater awe of the Creation and its infinite possibilities — that the long-sought missing link between animals and the really humane being is ourselves!

Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989) Austrian zoologist, ethologist, ornithologist
On Aggression, ch. 12 “On the Virtue of Scientific Humility” (1963)
(Source)

King, Stephen -- Cell, “Gaiten Academy,” ch. 16 (2006)

Dave — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 03:10:29 +0000

What Darwin was too polite to say, my friends, is that we came to rule the Earth not because we were the smartest, or even the meanest, but because we have always been the craziest, most murderous motherfuckers in the jungle.

Stephen King (b. 1947) American author
Cell, “Gaiten Academy,” ch. 16 (2006)

Baretti, Giuseppe -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 15:15:23 +0000

I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.

Giuseppe Baretti (1719-1789) Italian-English literary critic and translator [a.k.a. Joseph Baretti]
(Attributed)

Quoted in James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791).

Twain, Mark -- Following the Equator, ch. 27, epigraph (1897)

Dave — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 17:53:24 +0000

Man is the Only Animal that Blushes. Or needs to.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Following the Equator, ch. 27, epigraph (1897)
(Source)

Handey, Jack -- Deeper Thoughts: All New, All Crispy (1993)

Dave — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 12:51:41 +0000

Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself. Basically, it’s made up of two separate words — “mank” and “ind.” What do these words mean? It’s a mystery, and that’s why so is mankind.

Jack Handey (b. 1949) American humorist
Deeper Thoughts: All New, All Crispy (1993)