“Experience declares that man is the only animal which devours his own kind; for I can apply no milder term to the governments of Europe, and to the general prey of the rich on the poor.”

—  Thomas Jefferson

Letter to Colonel Edward Carrington (16 January 1787)
1780s
Variant: Experience declares that man is the only animal which devours his own kind; for I can apply no milder term to the governments of Europe, and to the general prey of the rich on the poor.
Source: Letters of Thomas Jefferson

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 "Experience declares that man is the only animal which devours his own kind; for I can apply no milder term to the gover…" by Thomas Jefferson?
Thomas Jefferson photo
Thomas Jefferson 456
3rd President of the United States of America 1743–1826

Related quotes

James Burnett, Lord Monboddo photo

“Though I think that man has from nature the capacity of living, either by prey, or upon the fruits of the earth; it appears to me, that by nature, and in his original state, he is a frugivorous animal, and that he only becomes an animal of prey by acquired habit.”

James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714–1799) Scottish judge, scholar of language evolution and philosopher

Of the Origin and Progress of Language (Edinburgh and London: J. Balfour and T. Cadell, 2nd ed., 1774), Vol. I, Book II, Ch. II, pp. 224-225 https://archive.org/stream/originandprogre01conggoog#page/n251/mode/2up.

Ilana Mercer photo

“Wars are generally a rich man's affair and a poor man's fight.”

Ilana Mercer South African writer

" Sanctuary City Mayor Trashes An AMERICAN Hero, Robert E. Lee, https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/sanctuary-city-mayor-trashes-an-american-hero-robert-e-lee/" The Abbeville Institute, May 25, 2017
2010s, 2017

John Ruskin photo

“And with respect to the mode in which these general principles affect the secure possession of property, so far am I from invalidating such security, that the whole gist of these papers will be found ultimately to aim at an extension in its range; and whereas it has long been known and declared that the poor have no right to the property of the rich, I wish it also to be known and declared that the rich have no right to the property of the poor.”

John Ruskin book Unto This Last

Essay III: "Qui Judicatis Terram," section 54.
Unto This Last (1860)

“We should keep in mind that in this country there is a general discrimination against minorities and the poorest workers. It is a widespread mentality which can also affect this tragedy. The fact that the rich are better off than the poor, having saved their own land, is a serious matter which the government must address.”

Max Rodrigues French fencer

Pakistan: some Christians denied aid unless they convert to Islam https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=7460 (September 6, 2010)

“Woman is the only creature in nature that hunts down its hunters and devours the prey alive. ”

Абрахам Миллер (1863–1951)
Baruch Spinoza photo

“When a man is prey to his emotions, he is not his own master.”

Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) Dutch philosopher
Robert Mugabe photo

“He imprisons and tortures at Guantanamo. He imprisoned and tortured at Abu Ghraib. He has secret torture chambers in Europe. Yes, he imprisons even here in the United States, with his jails carrying more blacks than his universities can ever enroll. He even suspends the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Take Guantanamo for example; at that concentration camp international law does not apply. The national laws of the people there do not apply. Laws of the United States of America do not apply. Only Bush's law applies. Can the international community accept being lectured by this man on the provisions of the universal declaration of human rights? Definitely not!”

Robert Mugabe (1924–2019) former President of Zimbabwe

Speech to the United Nations General Assembly (26 September 2007)
2000s, 2005 - 2009

“The highest knowledge man can possess is that which is true in his own experience. If his experience is limited, so is his knowledge and he behaves accordingly.”

Barry Long (1926–2003) Australian spiritual teacher and writer

Knowing Yourself: The True in the False (1996)
Context: You think: you become that thought. And consciousness, or the state of pure awareness, is lost. The highest knowledge man can possess is that which is true in his own experience. If his experience is limited, so is his knowledge and he behaves accordingly.

Henry Miller photo

“Every man is working out his destiny in his own way and nobody can be of any help except by being kind, generous, and patient.”

Henry Miller (1891–1980) American novelist

Henry Miller on Writing (1964)

Related topics