Distinction Quotes - Page 24

• Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain. A sharp distinction between humans and 'animals' is essential if we are to bend them to our will, make them work for us, wear them, eat them — without any disquieting tinges of guilt or regret. It is unseemly of us, who often behave so unfeelingly toward other animals, to contend that only humans can suffer. The behavior of other animals renders such pretensions specious. They are just too much like us.

  Carl Sagan

  Pain, Regret, Compassion

  "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors". Book by Ann Druyan and Carl Sagan, 1992.

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• I never realized that life could be as difficult for a beautiful woman as it is for a plain one,” he said. “Life can be difficult for everyone,” she replied. “Misery makes no distinction between prince and pauper.

  Patricia Grasso

  Beautiful, Said Life, Misery

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• The days were heavy and sticky. All identical, one the same as the other. Soon they would even get rid of their one remaining distinction, the shell of their names: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday.

  Ismail Kadaré

  Monday, Names, Tuesday

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• We're not stupid! We're just poor! And we have a right to insist on this distinction

  Orhan Pamuk

  Stupid, Poor, Not Stupid

  Orhan Pamuk (2011). “Snow”, p.282, Faber & Faber

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• For nothing is more democratic than logic; it is no respecter of persons and makes no distinction between crooked and straight noses.

  Friedrich Nietzsche

  Noses, Logic, Democratic

  Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1974). “The Gay Science: With a Prelude in Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs”, Vintage

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• A bullet from a gun does not make a distinction between practice and combat. You are training to be one and the same way in your life

  Miyamoto Musashi

  Gun, Practice, Training

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• In Christ, for the first time, we see that in God himself there exists--within his inseparable unity--the distinction between the Father who gives and the Gift which is given (the Son), but only in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

  Hans Urs von Balthasar

  Father, Son, Giving

  Hans Urs von Balthasar (1991). “Unless You Become Like this Child”, p.17, Ignatius Press

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• But, as Einstein once said, “For we convinced physicists, the distinction between past, present, and future is only an illusion, however persistent.”5

  Brian Greene

  Past, Illusion, Said

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• The aims of these three groups are entirely irreconcilable. The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the Middle is to change places with the High. The aim of the Low, when they have an aim-for it is an abiding characteristic of the Low that they are too much crushed by drudgery to be more than intermittently conscious of anything outside their daily lives -is to abolish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall be equal.

  George Orwell

  Men, Abiding, Groups

  George Orwell (2001). “The Complete Novels of George Orwell: Animal Farm, Burmese Days, A Clergyman's Daughter, Coming Up for Air, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Nineteen Eighty-Four”, p.1302, Penguin UK

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• I love love. I love having a lover and being one. The insularity of passion. I love it. I love the way it blurs the distinction between everyone who isn't one's lover.

  Tom Stoppard

  Passion, Way, Lovers

  Tom Stoppard (2014). “The Real Thing”, p.45, Faber & Faber

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• I emphasize the distinction between brackets and no brackets because it will affect your reading experience, if you will allow it. Brackets are exciting. Even though you are approaching Sappho in translation, that is no reason you should miss the drama of trying to read a papyrus torn in half or riddled with holes or smaller than a postage stamp--brackets imply a free space of imaginal adventure.

  Anne Carson

  Drama, Reading, Adventure

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• It is important that we should never lose sight of this distinction. We must not confuse the peoples with their governments.

  Thomas Paine

  Government, Sight, Important

  Thomas Paine (2016). “THOMAS PAINE Ultimate Collection: Political Works, Philosophical Writings, Speeches, Letters & Biography (Including Common Sense, The Rights of Man & The Age of Reason): The American Crisis, The Constitution of 1795, Declaration of Rights, Agrarian Justice, The Republican Proclamation, Anti-Monarchal Essay, Letters to Thomas Jefferson and George Washington…”, p.189, e-artnow

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• The distinction between good and evil is meaningless if one does not have the freedom to choose between them.

  Jim Butcher

  Evil, Doe, Freedom To Choose

  Jim Butcher (2011). “Ghost Story: The Dresden Files, Book Thirteen”, p.317, Hachette UK

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• These infinitesimal distinctions between man and man are too paltry for an Omnipotent Being. How these madmen give themselves away! The real God taketh heed lest a sparrow fall. But the God created from human vanity sees no difference between an eagle and a sparrow.

  Bram Stoker

  Real, Fall, Men

  Bram Stoker, Eleanor Bourg Nicholson (2012). “Dracula”, p.151, Ignatius Press

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• Hey, a guy can hope. I mean, it’s not impossible that a car full of scantily clad sorority girls might break down outside and need my help.” “That’s true,” I said. “Maybe I can put a sign out front that says, ‘ATTENTION ALL GIRLS: FREE HELP HERE.’” “‘ATTENTION ALL HOT GIRLS,’” he corrected, straightening up. “Right,” I said, trying not to roll my eyes. “That’s an important distinction.” He pointed at me with the pool stick. “Speaking of hot, I like that uniform.” This time, I did roll my eyes.

  Richelle Mead

  Girl, Mean, Eye

  Richelle Mead (2011). “Bloodlines”, p.88, Penguin

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• I know it's not clothes that make women beautiful or otherwise, nor beauty care, nor expensive creams, nor the distinction of costliness of their finery. I know the problem lies elsewhere. I don't know where. I only know it isn't where women think.

  Marguerite Duras

  Beautiful, Lying, Thinking

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• I am aware of the technical distinction between ‘less’ and ‘fewer’, and between ‘uninterested’ and ‘disinterested’ and ‘infer’ and ‘imply’, but none of these are of importance to me. ‘None of these are of importance,’ I wrote there, you’ll notice – the old pedantic me would have insisted on “none of them is of importance”. Well I’m glad to say I’ve outgrown that silly approach to language

  Stephen Fry

  Silly, Language, Pedantic

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• Because every book of art, be it a poem or a cupola, is understandably a self-portrait of its author, we won't strain ourselves too hard trying to distinguish between the author's persona and the poem's lyrical hero. As a rule, such distinctions are quite meaningless, if only because a lyrical hero is invariably an author's self-projection.

  Joseph Brodsky

  Art, Book, Hero

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• And there you see the distinction between our feelings: had he been in my place, and I in his, though I hated him with a hatred that turned my life to gall, I never would have raised a hand against him. You may look incredulous, if you please! I never would have banished him from her society as long as she desired his. The moment her regard ceased, I would have torn his heart out and drank his blood! But, till then - if you don't believe me, you don't know me - til then, I would have died by inches before I touched a single hair on his head!

  Emily Bronte

  Believe, Heart, Hair

  Emily Bronte (2015). “Wuthering Heights (Diversion Classics)”, p.171, Diversion Books

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• Where did you find that one?" "I have no idea. I'm a magnet for crazies, I guess." "They must be able to sense a kindred spirit." "Your one to talk. Don't you have more hordes of the undead to lead in a glorious revolution?" "Zombies not undead. There's a fine distinction. And no. Right now I'm scouting new talent. The glorious revolution comes tomorrow.

  Kiersten White

  Ideas, Zombie, Able

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• Yeah, but they're PURPLE pants," Bobby said as if that made some kind of distinction. "Hence, I'm awesome.

  Amanda Hocking

  Purple, Pants, Kind

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• Christian love draws no distinction between one enemy and another, except that the more bitter our enemy's hatred, the greater his need of love. Be his enmity political or religious, he has nothing to expect from a follower of Jesus but unqualified love. In such love there is not inner discord between the private person and official capacity. In both we are disciples of Christ, or we are not Christians at all.

  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

  Christian, Religious, Jesus

  Dietrich Bonhoeffer (2015). “The Cost of Discipleship”, p.97, SCM Press

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• Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then. It is something to think of, and gives her a sort of distinction among her companions

  Jane Austen

  Girl, Thinking, Giving

  1813 Pride and Prejudice, ch.24.

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• The distinction between meat and other animal products is total nonsense. Vegetarianism is a morally incoherent position. If you regard animals as members of the moral community, you really don’t have a choice but to go vegan.

  Gary L. Francione

  Animal, Vegetarianism, Choices

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• All nationalistic distinctions - all claims to be better than somebody else because you have a different-shaped skull or speak a different dialect - are entirely spurious, but they are important so long as people believe in them.

  George Orwell

  Believe, Skulls, Long

  George Orwell (2016). “The Road to Wigan Pier”, p.76, Jester House Publishing

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