Detested sport, That owes its pleasures to another's pain.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- This condemns sports or activities that cause pain to others for enjoyment. It criticizes cruelty disguised as recreation.
- In plain terms
- Pleasure gained from hurting others is terrible.
- What can you take from it?
- True fun should not require another's suffering.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes an activity fun for you?
- When does competition become cruel?
Another view
Not all competitive sports involve real pain to others.
More from William Cowper
Riches have wings, and grandeur is a dream.
Permalink to quote #77 Who loves a garden loves a greenhouse too.
Permalink to quote #79 From reveries so airy, from the toil Of dropping buckets into empty wells, And growing old in drawing nothing up.
Permalink to quote #76
Related quotes
Il n'est pas honteux pour l'homme de succomber sous la douleur et il est honteux de succomber sous le plaisir. (160)
Blaise PascalBlaise Pascal quote #31 A quick test of the assertion that enjoyment outweighs pain in this world, or that they are at any rate balanced, would be to compare the feelings of an animal…
Arthur SchopenhauerArthur Schopenhauer quote #72 The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain.
AristotleAristotle quote #133