Man's inhumanity to man
Encyclopedia
The phrase "Man's inhumanity to man" is first documented in my balls]] poem called Man was made to mourn: A Dirge in 1784. It is possible that Burns reworded a similar quote from Samuel von Pufendorf
who in 1673 wrote, "More inhumanity has been done by man himself than any other of nature's causes."
, 1673.
"Man's inhumanity (towards man) comes from within, due to the lack of cardinal virtues
." An unknown Catholic Priest, date unknown.
"There is only one way in which one can endure man's inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one's own life, to exemplify man's humanity to man." Alan Paton
.
"Man's inhumanity to man is equaled only by man's inhumanity to himself." Edmund Bergler
, 1949.
"Man's inhumanity to his brother is Our greatest sorrow.” – Our Lady
, October 2, 1970
"Man's inhumanity to man crosses continents and decades." Anthony Venutolo, 2009.
"Why do we hunt and persecute each other? Why is our world so full of man's infamous inhumanity to man - and to woman?" Riane Eissler, 1987
"Man's inhumanity to man shows only the weakness of the soul." Unknown
, April 1912.
""Man's inhumanity to man" -- the phrase is all too familiar ... a profound silence prevailed about woman's inhumanity to woman. Women's aggression may not take the same form as men's, but girls and women are indeed aggressive, often indirectly and mainly toward one another." Phyllis Chesler
, May 2009.
"Man's inhumanity to woman - War has shattered many ... women's lives." Marty Logan, 2006
"Man's inhumanity to man begins with man’s inhumanity to woman."
Marilyn Stasio
, 2008
"Women's inhumanity to man, her heart is cruel, she exists only to cause heartbreak and suffering and to tear down men's self worth" - Unknown
than any other cause." Author unknown, circa 1929.
, 1966
"For most of this country’s history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man’s inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays – on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system." Barack Obama
, 2008
, there is a sense of injustice, a tormented sense of the way political systems suppress individual thought. Man's inhumanity to man." Jean Eloi, 2002
in support of socialism
.
and the labor union, each, in its way, a positive detriment to society." George Frazier Miller, 1910
, September 1867
article on healthcare, December 27, 2009
, 1999.
Samuel von Pufendorf
Baron Samuel von Pufendorf was a German jurist, political philosopher, economist, statesman, and historian. His name was just Samuel Pufendorf until he was ennobled in 1684; he was made a Freiherr a few months before his death in 1694...
who in 1673 wrote, "More inhumanity has been done by man himself than any other of nature's causes."
Robert Burns
| Man was made to mourn: A Dirge |
Notable uses of the phrase
In reference to man
"More inhumanity (to man) has been done by man himself than any other of nature's causes." Samuel von PufendorfSamuel von Pufendorf
Baron Samuel von Pufendorf was a German jurist, political philosopher, economist, statesman, and historian. His name was just Samuel Pufendorf until he was ennobled in 1684; he was made a Freiherr a few months before his death in 1694...
, 1673.
"Man's inhumanity (towards man) comes from within, due to the lack of cardinal virtues
Cardinal virtues
In Christian traditionthere are 4 cardinal virtues:*Prudence - able to judge between actions with regard to appropriate actions at a given time*Justice - proper moderation between self-interest and the rights and needs of others...
." An unknown Catholic Priest, date unknown.
"There is only one way in which one can endure man's inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one's own life, to exemplify man's humanity to man." Alan Paton
Alan Paton
Alan Stewart Paton was a South African author and anti-apartheid activist.-Family:Paton was born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province , the son of a minor civil servant. After attending Maritzburg College, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Natal in his hometown, followed...
.
"Man's inhumanity to man is equaled only by man's inhumanity to himself." Edmund Bergler
Edmund Bergler
Edmund Bergler was an American psychoanalyst.-Biography:Bergler, an Austrian Jew, fled the Nazis in 1937-38 and lived in New York City. He wrote 25 psychology books along with 273 articles that were published in leading professional journals...
, 1949.
"Man's inhumanity to his brother is Our greatest sorrow.” – Our Lady
Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
Roman Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary is based on Holy Scripture: In the fullness of time, God sent his son, born of a virgin. The mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God through Mary thus signifies her honour as Mother of God...
, October 2, 1970
"Man's inhumanity to man crosses continents and decades." Anthony Venutolo, 2009.
"Why do we hunt and persecute each other? Why is our world so full of man's infamous inhumanity to man - and to woman?" Riane Eissler, 1987
In reference to women
"Woman's Inhumanity to Man," a lecture topic by Emma GoldmanEmma Goldman
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....
, April 1912.
""Man's inhumanity to man" -- the phrase is all too familiar ... a profound silence prevailed about woman's inhumanity to woman. Women's aggression may not take the same form as men's, but girls and women are indeed aggressive, often indirectly and mainly toward one another." Phyllis Chesler
Phyllis Chesler
Phyllis Chesler is an American writer, psychotherapist, and professor emerita of psychology and women's studies at the College of Staten Island...
, May 2009.
"Man's inhumanity to woman - War has shattered many ... women's lives." Marty Logan, 2006
"Man's inhumanity to man begins with man’s inhumanity to woman."
Marilyn Stasio
Marilyn Stasio
Marilyn Stasio is a New York City area author, writer and literary critic. She has been the "Crime Columnist" for The New York Times Book Review since about 1988, having written over 650 reviews as of January 2009. She says she reads "a few" crime books a year professionally and many more for...
, 2008
"Women's inhumanity to man, her heart is cruel, she exists only to cause heartbreak and suffering and to tear down men's self worth" - Unknown
In reference to religion
"More man's inhumanity to man has been done in the name of religionReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
than any other cause." Author unknown, circa 1929.
In reference to African-Americans
"This is the most tragic picture of man’s inhumanity to man. I’ve been to Mississippi and Alabama and I can tell you that the hatred and hostility in Chicago are really deeper than in Alabama and Mississippi.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, 1966
"For most of this country’s history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man’s inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays – on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system." Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, 2008
In reference to George Orwell's novel 1984
"Behind 1984Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
, there is a sense of injustice, a tormented sense of the way political systems suppress individual thought. Man's inhumanity to man." Jean Eloi, 2002
In reference to Human History
"Throughout all of human history, from the first murder to the present crises (the rise of socialism in America) and catastrophes, we have faced famine, depression, wars and rumors of wars, (and) countless examples of man’s inhumanity to man." Gail B. Leatherwood, May 2009In reference to the cities of Europe
"It was in the great cities of Europe and among the hovels of the peasantry that my eyes were first fully opened to the extent and consequences of 'man's inhumanity to man." Edward BellamyEdward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy was an American author and socialist, most famous for his utopian novel, Looking Backward, set in the year 2000. He was a very influential writer during the Gilded Age of United States history.-Early life:...
in support of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
.
In reference to the trust and labor union
"When man's inhumanity to man shall cease from the earth, and justice and equity reign supreme, we may well be rid of both the trustTrust (19th century)
A special trust or business trust is a business entity formed with intent to monopolize business, to restrain trade, or to fix prices. Trusts gained economic power in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some, but not all, were organized as trusts in the legal sense...
and the labor union, each, in its way, a positive detriment to society." George Frazier Miller, 1910
In reference to states
"The State, therefore, is the most flagrant, the most cynical, and the most complete negation of humanity. It shatters the universal solidarity of all men on the earth, and brings some of them into association only for the purpose of destroying, conquering, and enslaving all the rest. It protects its own citizens only; it recognizes human rights, humanity, civilization within its own confines alone. Since it recognizes no rights outside itself, it logically arrogates to itself the right to exercise the most ferocious inhumanity toward all foreign populations, which it can plunder, exterminate, or enslave at will." Mikhail BakuninMikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin was a well-known Russian revolutionary and theorist of collectivist anarchism. He has also often been called the father of anarchist theory in general. Bakunin grew up near Moscow, where he moved to study philosophy and began to read the French Encyclopedists,...
, September 1867
In reference to healthcare
"The real US healthcare issue: moral deficiency…man's inhumanity to man" Title of MSNBCMSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
article on healthcare, December 27, 2009
In reference to crises
"All over the world we read of economic crises, social crises, ethnic conflicts and crises, national conflicts and crises, crises in family life, crises of poverty, crises of exploitation, crises of homelessness, crises of governmental oppression, crises of man's inhumanity to man and so on. The fundamental crisis is the turning away of men and women from spiritual and moral values." L. J. Mark Cooray, 1993In reference to the ancient world
"All of them covered in the darkness of man’s inhumanity to man: Revolutions, expansionism ..." ESermons, 2009?In reference to the 20th Century
"It has been the worst of all centuries, with more of war, more of man's inhumanity to man, more of conflict and trouble than any other century in the history of the world." Gordon B. HinckleyGordon B. Hinckley
Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...
, 1999.
External links
- The Terrible Truth Man's Inhumanity to Mankind.
- The Phrase Finder - The meanings and origins of phrases, sayings, and idioms
- Phrases.net - A large collection of common phrases that can be heard and translated to several languages.