Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seed of rapacious license and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Repeating oppression and violence will inevitably lead to the same distorted societal outcomes.
- In plain terms
- Doing the same bad things will always give the same bad results.
- What can you take from it?
- Repeating destructive actions guarantees destructive results.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can cycles of violence be broken?
- Do actions always predict results?
Another view
It assumes human agency cannot change historical outcomes.
More from Charles Dickens
A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.
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Permalink to quote #123 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of i…
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