--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A release from great pain, Mr Harris. Had…" description: "\"“A release from great pain, Mr Harris. Had he been my dog I would have shot him weeks ago to put him out of his misery – why is it that we treat humans..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/andrew-wareham-77175_nature-of-man_a-release-from-great-pain-mr-harris-had_1003141.jpg" --- # A release from great pain, Mr Harris. Had he been my dog I… ![“A release from great pain, Mr Harris. Had he been my dog I would have shot him weeks ago to put him out of his misery – why is it that we treat humans so much less kindly?” “I” quote by Andrew Wareham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/andrew-wareham-77175_nature-of-man_a-release-from-great-pain-mr-harris-had_1003141.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/andrew-wareham-77175_nature-of-man_a-release-from-great-pain-mr-harris-had_1003141.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46f/andrew-wareham-77175_nature-of-man_a-release-from-great-pain-mr-harris-had_1003141.jpg) > ““A release from great pain, Mr Harris. Had he been my dog I would have shot him weeks ago to put him out of his misery – why is it that we treat humans so much less kindly?” “I”” Andrew Wareham ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lament that humans receive less compassion than animals, highlighting moral inconsistency. **In simple terms:** We treat humans harsher than animals. Key Takeaway Extend compassion to people. Themes ethics compassion humanity animal rights morality Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - medical care - end‑of‑life decisions - animal welfare - justice systems Key Concepts moral philosophy empathy Questions to Reflect On - Why do we find it easier to harm humans? - What changes can increase empathy? A Different Perspective Compassion fatigue can make humane treatment difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [“You're full of hashish! You been bothered lately with your head, Mr. Harris?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-ferdinand-moore/you-re-full-of-hashish-you-been-bothered-lately-with-your-head-mr/) Frederick Ferdinand Moore > [“Beside him Mr. Harris folded his morning newspaper and held it out to Claude. "Seen this yet?" "No." "Don't read it," Mr. Harris said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-woolf/beside-him-mr-harris-folded-his-morning-newspaper-and-held-it-out-to/) [Douglas Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-woolf/) > [“For the best is only bought at the cost of great pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/for-the-best-is-only-bought-at-the-cost-of-great-pain/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Who can attain to anything great if he does not feel in himself the force and will to inflict great pain?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/who-can-attain-to-anything-great-if-he-does-not-feel-in-himself-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Grace strikes us when we are in great pain …Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/grace-strikes-us-when-we-are-in-great-pain-sometimes-at-that-moment-a/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [“And yet - when one begins to search for the crucial, the definitive moment, the moment which changed all others, one finds one-self pressing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/and-yet-when-one-begins-to-search-for-the-crucial-the-definitive/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I think those who have a terminal illness and are in great pain should have the right to choose to end their own life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-think-those-who-have-a-terminal-illness-and-are-in-great-pain/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Only great pain is, as the teacher of great suspicion, the ultimate liberator of the spirit...I doubt whether such pain improves us-but I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/only-great-pain-is-as-the-teacher-of-great-suspicion-the-ultimate/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Scarlet shut the door behind her, leaning against it as she responded. "I came because you have been in great pain." "Yes. And because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-fine/scarlet-shut-the-door-behind-her-leaning-against-it-as-she-responded/) [Chelsea Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-fine/) > [Life is ultimately filled with events that may cause us great difficulty and great pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/life-is-ultimately-filled-with-events-that-may-cause-us-great-2/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [I wish for one moment in my life that gravity never learned how to pull water from my eyes,so atleast for just one moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wish-for-one-moment-in-my-life-that-gravity-never-learned-how-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Only great pain is the ultimate liberator of the spirit….I doubt that such pain makes us ‘better’; but I know that it makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/only-great-pain-is-the-ultimate-liberator-of-the-spirit-i-doubt-that/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“How can a man become great if he does not feel in himself the force and the will to inflict great pain”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nietzsche-friedrich/how-can-a-man-become-great-if-he-does-not-feel-in-himself-the-force/) Nietzsche Friedrich > [“When there is great pain, there are only three rules: not to push the pain away, not to try to understand it, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-maufroy/when-there-is-great-pain-there-are-only-three-rules-not-to-push-the/) [Muriel Maufroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-maufroy/) > [..the best is only bought at the cost of great pain...or so says the legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-best-is-only-bought-at-the-cost-of-great-pain-or-so-says-the/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) ## More by Andrew Wareham > [“I had rather water in a port than from some uncertain creek or river on the Malay coast where for all you know there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wareham/i-had-rather-water-in-a-port-than-from-some-uncertain-creek-or-river/) Andrew Wareham > [“They view the government as their enemy, profit as their only friend – probably do not even see themselves as the traitors they are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wareham/they-view-the-government-as-their-enemy-profit-as-their-only-friend/) Andrew Wareham Explore all 3 Andrew Wareham quotes ## More Nature of man quotes > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Every human creates his own problems. Problems are ones private property and we shouldnt meddle into them self-initiatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/every-human-creates-his-own-problems-problems-are-ones-private/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“In the United States law, federally designated wilderness is famously defined as 'an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-marris/in-the-united-states-law-federally-designated-wilderness-is-famously/) [Emma Marris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-marris/) > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Browse all 12,662 Nature of man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A release from great pain, Mr Harris. 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