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It is abundantly evident, both from history and from present experience, that the instinctive shock, or natural feeling of disgust, caused by the sight of the sufferings of men is not generically different from that which is caused by the sight of the sufferings of animals.

— William Edward Hartpole Lecky A History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne (1869)

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More quotes by William Edward Hartpole Lecky

The great difficulty of Christianity is that many of the Bible revelations seem to clash with our sense of justice and right.

The Religious Tendencies of the Age (1860)

The great art in politics consists not in hearing those who speak, but in hearing those who are silent.

The map of life; conduct and character (1899)

Terror is everywhere the beginning of religion.

History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe (1910)

There have certainly been many periods in history when virtue was more rare than under the Caesars; but there has probably never been a period when vice was more extravagant or uncontrolled.

A History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne (1869)

There was a tradition that Pythagoras had himself penetrated to India, and learnt philosophy from the gymnosophists.

A History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne (1869)

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All breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away.

Mahavira

A dog cannot relate his autobiography; however eloquently he may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were honest but poor.

Bertrand Russell Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (1948)

Histories are more full of Examples of the Fidelity of dogs than of Friends.

Alexander Pope

True human goodness, in all its purity and freedom, can come to the fore only when its recipient has no power.

Milan Kundera The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: William Edward Hartpole Lecky (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.