--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This was his glory and his guilt-- that…" description: "\"“This was his glory and his guilt-- that he let them teach him to feel guilty of his glory, to accept the part of a sacrificial animal and, in punishme..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1e/ayn-rand-59_nature-of-man_this-was-his-glory-and-his-guilt-that-he_1244087.jpg" --- # This was his glory and his guilt-- that he let them teach… ![“This was his glory and his guilt-- that he let them teach him to feel guilty of his glory, to accept the part of a sacrificial animal and, in punishment for the sin of intelligence, to perish on the altars of the brutes. The tragic joke of human history is that on any of the altars men erected, it…” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1e/ayn-rand-59_nature-of-man_this-was-his-glory-and-his-guilt-that-he_1244087.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1e/ayn-rand-59_nature-of-man_this-was-his-glory-and-his-guilt-that-he_1244087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1e/ayn-rand-59_nature-of-man_this-was-his-glory-and-his-guilt-that-he_1244087.jpg) > ““This was his glory and his guilt-- that he let them teach him to feel guilty of his glory, to accept the part of a sacrificial animal and, in punishment for the sin of intelligence, to perish on the altars of the brutes. The tragic joke of human history is that on any of the altars men erected, it was always man whom they immolated and the animal whom they enshrined. It was always the animal's attributes, not man's, that humanity worshipped: the idol of instinct and the idol of force--the mystics and the kings-- the mystics, who longed for an irresponsible consciousness and ruled by means of the claim that their dark emotions were superior to reason, that knowledge cam in blind, causeless fits, blindly to be followed, not doubted-- the kings, who ruled by means of claws and muscles, with conquest as their method and looting as their aim, with a club or a gun as sole sanction of their power. The defenders of man's soul were concerned with his feelings, and the defenders of man's body were concerned with his stomach-- but both were united against his mind. Yet no one, not the lowest of humans, is ever able fully to renounce his brain. No one has ever believed in the irrational; what they do believe in is the unjust. Whenever a man denounces the mind, it is because his goal is of a nature the mind would not permit him to confess. When he preaches contradictions, he does so in the knowledge that someone will accept the burden of the impossible, someone will make it work for him at the price of his own suffering or life; destruction is the price of any contradiction. It is the victims who made injustice possible. It is the men of reason who made it possible for the rule of the brute to work. The despoiling of reason has been the motive of every anti-reason creed on earth. The despoiling ability has been the purpose of every creed that preached self-sacrifice.”” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human history repeats the worship of instinct and force over reason, leading to sacrifice of intellect and moral contradictions. **In simple terms:** Society favors instinct over reason, causing conflict. Key Takeaway Question authority and value reason. Themes power reason instinct contradiction human nature Mood critical serious Type philosophical political advice When to use this quote - political discourse - education - leadership - personal decision making - social activism Key Concepts philosophy political theory psychology Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize intellect over emotion? - How can you resist irrational authority? A Different Perspective Reason can be suppressed by emotional or violent forces. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Self sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-sacrifice/) ## Related quotes > [“No glory found and no guilt ever apportioned For those guiding young men to wars uncautioned, The chosen so often of colour, unlearned or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-jurkowski/no-glory-found-and-no-guilt-ever-apportioned-for-those-guiding-young/) Jan Jurkowski > [“A wish for the irrational is not to be achieved, whether the sacrificial victims are willing or not. But men will not cease to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-wish-for-the-irrational-is-not-to-be-achieved-whether-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Ask anything of men. Ask them to achieve wealth, fame, love, brutality, murder, self-sacrifice. 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It was always the animal's attributes, not man's, that humanity worshipped: the idol of instinct and the idol of force--the mystics and the kings-- the mystics, who longed for an irresponsible consciousness and ruled by means of the claim that their dark emotions were superior to reason, that knowledge cam in blind, causeless fits, blindly to be followed, not doubted-- the kings, who ruled by means of claws and muscles, with conquest as their method and looting as their aim, with a club or a gun as sole sanction of their power. The defenders of man's soul were concerned with his feelings, and the defenders of man's body were concerned with his stomach-- but both were united against his mind. Yet no one, not the lowest of humans, is ever able fully to renounce his brain. No one has ever believed in the irrational; what they do believe in is the unjust. Whenever a man denounces the mind, it is because his goal is of a nature the mind would not permit him to confess. When he preaches contradictions, he does so in the knowledge that someone will accept the burden of the impossible, someone will make it work for him at the price of his own suffering or life; destruction is the price of any contradiction. It is the victims who made injustice possible. It is the men of reason who made it possible for the rule of the brute to work. The despoiling of reason has been the motive of every anti-reason creed on earth. 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