“They are not disinterested, but they are gentle.”
Book Three, Chapter I.
Democracy in America, Volume II (1840), Book Three
Context: In democratic ages men rarely sacrifice themselves for another, but they show a general compassion for all the human race. One never sees them inflict pointless suffering, and they are glad to relieve the sorrows of others when they can do so without much trouble to themselves. They are not disinterested, but they are gentle.
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Alexis De Tocqueville 135
French political thinker and historian 1805–1859Related quotes
“Material exhaustion and disinterest in material rewards”
Books, Spiritual Warrior, Volume III: Solace for the Heart in Difficult Times (Hari-Nama Press, 2000)
“Doing good,
Disinterested good, is not our trade.”
Source: The Task (1785), Book I, The Sofa, Line 673.
“Unmovable disinterest brings man into likeness of God.”
As quoted in Men Who Have Walked with God (1992) by Sheldon Cheney, p. 198
Context: Unmovable disinterest brings man into likeness of God.... To be full of things is to be empty of God; to be empty of things is to be full of God.
“I speak an open and disinterested language, dictated by no passion but that of humanity.”
Part 2.7 Chapter V. Ways and means of improving the condition of Europe, interspersed with miscellaneous observations
1790s, Rights of Man, Part 2 (1792)
Context: I speak an open and disinterested language, dictated by no passion but that of humanity. To me, who have not only refused offers, because I thought them improper, but have declined rewards I might with reputation have accepted, it is no wonder that meanness and imposition appear disgustful. Independence is my happiness, and I view things as they are, without regard to place or person; my country is the world, and my religion is to do good.
“Disinterested love for all living creatures, the most noble attribute of man.”
volume I, chapter III: "Comparison of the Mental Powers of Man and the Lower Animals — continued", page 105 http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=118&itemID=F937.1&viewtype=image
The Descent of Man (1871)
“The modern moralists extol … the cult of practical activity in defiance of the disinterested life.”
Source: Treason of the Intellectuals (1927), p. 146
Source: Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer
“My disinterest in your bullshit is so tangible you could make bricks out of it”
Source: The Republic of Thieves