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Of all the creatures that were made he [man] is the most detestable. Of the entire brood he is the only one - the solitary one - that possesses malice. That is the basest of all instincts, passions, vices - the most hateful...He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain...Also - in all the list he is the only creature that has a nasty mind.

Mark Twain#113

MoralityNatureHumanityCrueltyEvil

About this quote

What does it mean?
Humans are uniquely capable of malice and inflicting pain for sport.
In plain terms
People are the only creatures that hurt others just for fun.
What can you take from it?
Human cruelty distinguishes us negatively from other animals.

Where it applies

  • ethics discussions
  • philosophy
  • comparing species

Putting it to work

  • reflect on cruelty
  • choose empathy

Questions to consider

  • Is human cruelty unique?
  • What makes humans distinct?

Another view

Other animals can also act aggressively.

More from Mark Twain

  1. Biographies are but clothes and buttons of the man - the biography of the man himself cannot be written.

    Permalink to quote #112
  2. The trade of critic, in literature, music, and the drama, is the most degraded of all trades.

    Permalink to quote #114
  3. A God who could make good children as easily as bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy…

    Permalink to quote #111

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