I retaliated [against the calf worshippers] by visiting on them all manner of mischief, but I concluded, after some centuries of chronic relapsing on their part, that rage and punishment was not the best way to hold a clientele. It is only the most primitive of mortals who is swayed by that sort of thing.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A narrator reflects that punishment fails to change behavior over time and that primitive minds react to force.
- In plain terms
- Punishment does not work to change people who keep making mistakes.
- What can you take from it?
- Punishment is not the best way to influence behavior.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does punishment work?
- How do you change minds?
Another view
Some situations require immediate consequences.
More from Piers Anthony
I realized suddenly that I was in an impossible situation, and there was really no way out. No acceptable way. I could not go on - so I stopped.
Permalink to quote #2
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