#humanity

The buzzard has nothing to fault himself with. Scruples are alien to the black panther. Piranhas do not doubt the rightness of their actions. The rattlesnake approves of himself without reservations. The self-critical jackal does not exist. The locust, alligator, trichina, horsefly live as they live and are glad of it. The killer whale's heart weighs one hundred kilos but in other respects it is light. There is nothing more animal-like than a clear conscience on the third planet of the Sun. ↗

— Wisława Szymborska

#humanity #life #morality #self-deprecation #experience

Fire, loveliest of the four elements of the world, and yet an element too in Hell. While it burned adoringly in the core of the Temple, it had also scorched the life from a city, this night, and spewed its venom over the land. How strange of God to speak from a burning bush, and of Man to make a symbol of Heaven into a symbol of Hell. ↗

— Walter M. Miller Jr.

#humanity #religion #beauty

Corporations [gained] direct access to what we may think of as our humanity, emotions, and agency but, in this context, are really just buttons. ↗

— Douglas Rushkoff

#data-mining #humanity #marketing #life

If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you. If you actually make them think, they'll hate you. ↗

— Don Marquis

#society #thinking #love

وهل كانت الاديان السماوية كلها فى جوهرها الا دعوة للحب والرحمة والعطف والعدل والسلام؟ وهل كان الانبياء والمصلحون جميعا الا محبين للبشر والانسانية وقادرين على العطاء لهم والتضحية واحتمال الاذى من اجلهم؟ وكل ذلك فى النهاية من احوال الحب الصادق.. وان اختلفت المجالات.. وتنوعت اساليب التعبير.. وتعددت الاقنعة! ↗

— عبد الوهاب مطاوع

#love #mercy #religious #love

You didn’t feed from her,” he said, and this was not a question. “Swill poison? Not my kind of fun, little brother.” One corner of Stefan’s mouth quirked up. He made no response to this, but simply looked at Damon with eyes that were... knowing. Damon bridled. “I told the truth!” “Going to take it up as a hobby? ↗

— L.J. Smith

#humanity #humor #snark #humor

Everybody sins, Francis. The terrible thing is that we love our sins. We love the thing that makes us evil. ↗

— Robert Cormier

#heroes #humanity #love #psychology #robert-cormier

Yours is a race whose imagination is limited to its own small appetites. Greed, lust, envy - these are the motivating forces of humankind. What redeems you is that in every man and woman there is a seed that can grow to encompass love, joy and compassion. But this seed is never allowed to prosper in fertile ground. It struggles for life among the rocks of your human soul. ↗

— David Gemmell

#good #humanity #love #motivation #imagination

If it’s true that our species is alone in the universe, then I’d have to say the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little. ↗

— George Carlin

#humor #humour #perspective #philosophie #humor

I alternate between feeling sympathetic toward humanity and being a misanthrope. When I'm sympathetic, it usually means I haven't been around people in awhile. ↗

— John R. Lindensmith

#humor #misanthrope #social-commentary #humor