Wit & Attitude Quote by Susanna Moodie

Moodie’s sentence lands like a gavel because it stacks its authorities in a way that makes dissent feel not merely wrong, but perverse. “Nature, reason, and Christianity” is a triptych designed to close escape routes: the natural world, the rational mind, and the dominant moral framework of her era all allegedly converge on the same conclusion. Whatever “no other” refers to (she leaves it strategically vague), the rhetoric implies a social norm so self-evident that only vanity could dispute it.

The real target isn’t an argument; it’s the emotional posture behind an argument. By personifying Pride as a speaker - “Pride may say Nay” - Moodie turns disagreement into a character flaw. You don’t reason with Pride; you unmask it. Calling Pride “always a liar” is more than theological scolding. It’s a psychological claim about self-deception: the ego manufactures exceptions, special pleadings, and romantic myths to avoid admitting limits or obligations. “A great hater of the truth” sharpens that into moral drama, casting truth as something actively resisted, not simply misunderstood.

In Moodie’s 19th-century Protestant-inflected world (including her settler context, where hierarchy, duty, and “proper” conduct were constantly policed), this move does social work. It enforces humility as a civic virtue and frames conformity as alignment with reality itself. The line’s quiet menace is that it doesn’t just argue for a standard; it delegitimizes the inner voice that would question it.