“It is easy to replace man, and it will take no great time, where Nature has lapsed, to replace Nature.”

—  Alice Meynell

"The Colour of Life" in The Colour of Life and Other Essays on Things Seen and Heard (London: John Lane, 1896), p. 4.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It is easy to replace man, and it will take no great time, where Nature has lapsed, to replace Nature." by Alice Meynell?
Alice Meynell photo
Alice Meynell 13
English publisher, editor, writer, poet, activist 1847–1922

Related quotes

Karl Marx photo

“So far as living instruments of labour are concerned, for instance horses, their reproduction is timed by nature itself. Their average lifetime as instruments of labour is determined by the laws of nature. As soon as this term has expired they must be replaced by new ones. A horse cannot be replaced piecemeal; it must be replaced by another horse.”

Karl Marx (1818–1883) German philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist and revolutionary socialist

Vol. II, Ch. VIII, p. 174.
(Buch II) (1893)

Erich Fromm photo

“Man is born as a freak of nature, being within nature and yet transcending it. He has to find principles of action and decision-making which replace the principles of instincts.”

Erich Fromm (1900–1980) German social psychologist and psychoanalyst

The Revolution of Hope: Toward a Humanized Technology (1968),<!-- Harper & Row, New York --> p. 61
Context: Man is born as a freak of nature, being within nature and yet transcending it. He has to find principles of action and decision-making which replace the principles of instincts. He has to have a frame of orientation which permits him to organize a consistent picture of the world as a condition for consistent actions. He has to fight not only against the dangers of dying, starving, and being hurt, but also against another danger which is specifically human: that of becoming insane. In other words, he has to protect himself not only against the danger of losing his life but also against the danger of losing his mind.

Larry Ellison photo

“Really great blogs do not take the place of great microprocessors. Great blogs do not replace great software. Lots and lots of blogs does not replace lots and lots of sales.”

Larry Ellison (1944) American internet entrepreneur, businessman and philanthropist

On the previous managers of Sun after Oracles take-over, in "Special Report: Can that guy in Ironman 2 whip IBM in real life?" Reuters (12 May 2010) http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64B5YX20100512.

“Strauss’ whole study indicates that noble nature as Nietzsche presents it—no, embodies it—replaces divine nature as Plato presents it.”

Laurence Lampert (1941) American academic

Source: Leo Strauss and Nietzsche (1996), p. 15

Joris-Karl Huysmans photo

“How inferior the human machine is, compared to man-made machines. They can be decoked, unscrewed, oiled and parts replaced. Decidedly, nature is not a very wonderful thing.”

Joris-Karl Huysmans (1848–1907) French novelist and art critic
Nassim Nicholas Taleb photo

“Greatness starts with the replacement of hatred with polite disdain.”

Nassim Nicholas Taleb book The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms

Source: The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010), p. 64

“Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.”

Theodore Roethke The Waking

The Waking (1953), The Waking

Nancy Reagan photo

“Drugs steal away so much. They take and take, until finally every time a drug goes into a child, something else is forced out — like love and hope and trust and confidence. Drugs take away the dream from every child's heart and replace it with a nightmare, and it's time we in America stand up and replace those dreams.”

Nancy Reagan (1921–2016) actress and first lady of the United States

Just Say No (1986)
Context: Drugs steal away so much. They take and take, until finally every time a drug goes into a child, something else is forced out — like love and hope and trust and confidence. Drugs take away the dream from every child's heart and replace it with a nightmare, and it's time we in America stand up and replace those dreams. Each of us has to put our principles and consciences on the line, whether in social settings or in the workplace, to set forth solid standards and stick to them. There's no moral middle ground. Indifference is not an option. We want you to help us create an outspoken intolerance for drug use. For the sake of our children, I implore each of you to be unyielding and inflexible in your opposition to drugs.

“Man created in the divine image, the protagonist of a great drama in which his soul was at stake, was replaced by man the wealth-seeking and –consuming animal.”

Richard M. Weaver (1910–1963) American scholar

Source: Ideas have Consequences (1948), p. 6.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb photo

“Modernity has replaced ethics with legalese.”

Nassim Nicholas Taleb book Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

Source: Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder (2012), p. 15

Related topics