
“Wanton, and, what is worse, studied cruelty to brutes, is certainly wrong.”
Vol. I, Book II, Ch. XI.
The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (1785)
"Message from Bertrand Russell to the International Conference of Parlimentarians in Cairo, February 1970," reprinted in The New York Times (23 February 1970)
1960s
Context: The tragedy of the people of Palestine is that their country was "given" by a foreign power to another people for the creation of a new state. The result was that many hundreds of thousands of innocent people were made permanently homeless. With every new conflict their numbers increased. How much longer is the world willing to endure this spectacle of wanton cruelty? It is abundantly clear that the refugees have every right to the homeland from which they were driven, and the denial of this right is at the heart of the continuing conflict. No people anywhere in the world would accept being expelled en masse from their country; how can anyone require the people of Palestine to accept a punishment which nobody else would tolerate? A permanent just settlement of the refugees in their homeland is an essential ingredient of any genuine settlement in the Middle East.
“Wanton, and, what is worse, studied cruelty to brutes, is certainly wrong.”
Vol. I, Book II, Ch. XI.
The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (1785)
pg. 49
The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801), Danes
Fireside Travels, At Sea (1864)
“How much the greatest event it is that ever happened in the world! and how much the best!”
Letter to Mr. Fitzpatrick (30 July 1789) on the fall of the Bastille, printed in J. Russell (ed.), Memorials and Correspondence of Charles James Fox. Volume II (London: Richard Bentley, 1853), p. 361.
1780s
“The whole drama of the world is such tragedy that I am weary of the spectacle.”
As quoted in Conversations with Artists (1957) by Selden Rodman, p. 92; later published in 'Notes from a conversation with Selden Rodman, 1956' in Writings on Art : Mark Rothko (2006) ed. Miguel López-Remiro ISBN 0300114400
1950's
“How beautiful was the spectacle of nature not yet touched by
the often perverse wisdom of man!”
Source: The Name of the Rose