--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we act pugnaciously, and…" description: "\"When we act pugnaciously, and injuriously, and angrily, and rudely, to what level have we degenerated? To the level of the wild beasts. Well, the fact ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d61/epictetus-413_anger_when-we-act-pugnaciously-and-injuriously_2155796.jpg" --- # When we act pugnaciously, and injuriously, and angrily… ![“When we act pugnaciously, and injuriously, and angrily, and rudely, to what level have we degenerated? To the level of the wild beasts. Well, the fact is that some of us are wild beasts of a larger size, while others are little animals, malignant and petty.” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d61/epictetus-413_anger_when-we-act-pugnaciously-and-injuriously_2155796.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d61/epictetus-413_anger_when-we-act-pugnaciously-and-injuriously_2155796.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d61/epictetus-413_anger_when-we-act-pugnaciously-and-injuriously_2155796.jpg) > “When we act pugnaciously, and injuriously, and angrily, and rudely, to what level have we degenerated? To the level of the wild beasts. Well, the fact is that some of us are wild beasts of a larger size, while others are little animals, malignant and petty.” [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acting with aggression and rudeness reduces humanity to animalistic levels, revealing moral decay. **In simple terms:** Aggressive behavior makes us like wild beasts. Key Takeaway Cultivate restraint and civility. Themes morality human nature self‑control Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political debate - workplace conflict - online harassment - personal relationships Key Concepts Stoicism ethical decline Questions to Reflect On - How does aggression affect your relationships? - What steps can you take to respond calmly? A Different Perspective Even mild aggression can erode trust and community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast/) [Beasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beasts/) [Beasts Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beasts-fact-3779033/) [Beasts Larger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beasts-larger-4552852/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/petty/) [Rudely Level](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rudely-level-4552853/) [Size](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/size/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Wild beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-beast/) [Wild beasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-beasts/) ## Related quotes > [Birds and beasts have in fact our own nature, flattened a semi-tone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/birds-and-beasts-have-in-fact-our-own-nature-flattened-a-semi-tone/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [Ne cherchez plus mon coeur; les be" tes l'ont mange . Don't search any further for my heart; wild beasts ate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/ne-cherchez-plus-mon-coeur-les-be-tes-l-ont-mange-don-t-search-any/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [For some are in the habit of carrying about the name in wicked guile, while they still practice things unworthy of God. You must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/for-some-are-in-the-habit-of-carrying-about-the-name-in-wicked-guile/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [There are many wild beasts on land and in the sea, but the beastliest of all is woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menander/there-are-many-wild-beasts-on-land-and-in-the-sea-but-the-beastliest/) [Menander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menander/) > [“Much of human behavior can be explained by watching the wild beasts around us. They are constantly teaching us things about ourselves and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/much-of-human-behavior-can-be-explained-by-watching-the-wild-beasts/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“Wild beasts run away from dangers when they see them. Once they have escaped, they are free of anxiety. But we are tormented by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-j-robertson/wild-beasts-run-away-from-dangers-when-they-see-them-once-they-have/) [Donald J. Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-j-robertson/) > [Today there's more fellowship among snakes than among mankind. Wild beasts spare those with similar markings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/today-there-s-more-fellowship-among-snakes-than-among-mankind-wild/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [The truest wild beasts live in the most populous places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/the-truest-wild-beasts-live-in-the-most-populous-places/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [I can get on with wild beasts first-rate; but men rile me awfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/i-can-get-on-with-wild-beasts-first-rate-but-men-rile-me-awfully/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts, by land and sea, by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/from-syria-even-to-rome-i-fight-with-wild-beasts-by-land-and-sea-by/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [Each man's soul is a menagerie where Conscience, the animal-tamer, lives with a collection of wild beasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/each-man-s-soul-is-a-menagerie-where-conscience-the-animal-tamer/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [When among wild beasts, if they menace you, be a wild beast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/when-among-wild-beasts-if-they-menace-you-be-a-wild-beast/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Thus we behold Kentucky, lately an howling wilderness, the habitation of savages and wild beasts, become a fruitful field; this region, so favourably distinguished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boone/thus-we-behold-kentucky-lately-an-howling-wilderness-the-habitation/) [Daniel Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boone/) > [Speaking of the murder of the younger Hanan, and other eminent nobles and hierarchs, Josephus says, "I cannot but think that it was because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-farrar/speaking-of-the-murder-of-the-younger-hanan-and-other-eminent-nobles/) [Frederic Farrar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-farrar/) > [“Lysandra chuckled, a surprisingly deep, wicked sound—probably a laugh she never let Arobynn or her clients hear. “Some night soon, I’ll sneak back in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/lysandra-chuckled-a-surprisingly-deep-wicked-sound-probably-a-laugh/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) ## More by Epictetus > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Practice yourself, for heaven's sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/practice-yourself-for-heaven-s-sake-in-little-things-and-then-proceed/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Do not laugh much or often or unrestrainedly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/do-not-laugh-much-or-often-or-unrestrainedly/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [We are not disturbed by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-not-disturbed-by-what-happens-to-us-but-by-our-thoughts-about/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Don't be prideful with any excellence that is not your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/don-t-be-prideful-with-any-excellence-that-is-not-your-own/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [You know yourself what you are worth in your own eyes; and at what price you will sell yourself. For men sell themselves at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/you-know-yourself-what-you-are-worth-in-your-own-eyes-and-at-what/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [As a man, casting off worn out garments taketh new ones, so the dweller in the body, entereth into ones that are new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/as-a-man-casting-off-worn-out-garments-taketh-new-ones-so-the-dweller/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [If you would improve, submit to be considered wihout sense and foolish with respect to externals. Wish to be considered to know nothing; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-improve-submit-to-be-considered-wihout-sense-and-foolish/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“For it is not death or pain that is to be feared, but the fear of pain or death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/for-it-is-not-death-or-pain-that-is-to-be-feared-but-the-fear-of-pain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [What else can I do, a lame old man, but sing hymns to God? If I were a nightingale, I would do the nightingale's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-else-can-i-do-a-lame-old-man-but-sing-hymns-to-god-if-i-were-a/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [People are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/small-minded-people-blame-others-average-people-blame-themselves-the/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/all-philosophy-lies-in-two-words-sustain-and-abstain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) [Explore all 577 Epictetus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we act pugnaciously, and injuriously, and angrily, and rudely, to what level have we degenerated? To the level of the wild beasts. 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