The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant and kind.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
You know, of course, that the Tasmanians, who never committed adultery, are now extinct.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the consequences of strict moral standards leading to extinction.
W. Somerset Maugham's quote underscores the paradox of morality and human existence, suggesting that rigid adherence to moral principles, such as the prohibition of adultery, may lead to an inability to adapt and thrive, ultimately resulting in extinction. It implies that life's complexities and the need for human connection can outweigh strict moral codes, hinting at the balance between ethics and survival.
Themes
MoralityExtinctionHuman NatureAdulteryParadox
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on ethics, you might use this quote to illustrate the pitfalls of strict moralism.
More from W. Somerset Maugham
All quotes →Cronshaw stopped for a moment to drink. He had pondered for twenty years the problem whether he loved liquor because it made him talk or whether he loved conversation because it made him thirsty.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
Are you sure you can prevent yourself from falling in love one of these days? Such things do happen, you know, even to the most prudent men.' Simon gave him a strange, one might even have thought a hostile, look. I should tear it out of my heart as I'd wrench out of my mouth a rotten tooth.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
I don't think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
The world is quickly bored by the recital of misfortune, and willing avoids the sight of distress.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
There in the mist, enormous, majestic, silent and terrible, stood the Great Wall of China. Solitarily, with the indifference of nature herself, it crept up the mountain side and slipped down to the depth of the valley.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
Similar quotes
The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend to all the happiness of man.
Thomas JeffersonRead
Truth, Sir, is a cow which will yield such people no more milk, and so they are gone to milk the bull.
Samuel JohnsonRead
Obscurity and a competence—that is the life that is best worth living.
Mark TwainRead
Contention does not usually begin as strife between countries. More often, it starts with an individual, for we can contend within ourselves over simple matters of right and wrong. From there, contention can infect neighbors and nations like a spreading sore.
Russell M. NelsonRead
Humility is the distinguishing virtue of the believer in freedom; arrogance, of the paternalist.
Milton FriedmanRead
The study of law left me unsatisfied, because I did not know the aspects of life which it serves. I perceived only the intricate mental juggling with fictions that did not interest me.
Karl JaspersRead