"I consider nothing low but ignorance, vice, and meanness, characteristics generally found where the animal propensities predominate over the higher sentiments"
- William John Wills
About this Quote
This quote by William John Wills speaks to the value of cultivating greater sentiments in order to lead a meaningful life. He recommends that ignorance, vice, and meanness are the most affordable qualities a person can possess, and that these qualities are often discovered in people who prioritize their animalistic desires over their greater sentiments. Wills implies that it is necessary to pursue more than simply physical satisfaction, and to instead focus on establishing our greater beliefs such as morality, compassion, and compassion. He suggests that these higher beliefs are the key to living a life of purpose and satisfaction. By cultivating these higher beliefs, we can increase above our animalistic desires and lead a life of meaning and function.
"Often and often afterwards, the beloved Aunt would ask me why I had never told anyone how I was being treated. Children tell little more than animals, for what comes to them they accept as eternally established"
"Certainly it is wrong to be cruel to animals and the destruction of a whole species can be a great evil. The capacity for feelings of pleasure and pain and for the form of life of which animals are capable clearly impose duties of compassion and humanity in their case"
