--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I ask you now, is any little thing like…" description: "\"“I ask you now, is any little thing like being damned eternally a satisfactory excuse for behaving like a complete rat?”\" — Fritz Leiber" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/fritz-leiber-11218_quote_i-ask-you-now-is-any-little-thing-like-b_2001330.jpg" --- # I ask you now, is any little thing like being damned… ![“I ask you now, is any little thing like being damned eternally a satisfactory excuse for behaving like a complete rat?” quote by Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/fritz-leiber-11218_quote_i-ask-you-now-is-any-little-thing-like-b_2001330.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/fritz-leiber-11218_quote_i-ask-you-now-is-any-little-thing-like-b_2001330.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/fritz-leiber-11218_quote_i-ask-you-now-is-any-little-thing-like-b_2001330.jpg) > ““I ask you now, is any little thing like being damned eternally a satisfactory excuse for behaving like a complete rat?”” [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote challenges using extreme moral condemnation as justification for dehumanizing behavior toward others. **In simple terms:** Don’t let fear of damnation excuse cruelty. Key Takeaway Reject excuses that justify cruelty. Themes ethics humanity behavior morality personal responsibility Mood defiant critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical ethical social commentary When to use this quote - interpersonal conflict - political discourse - online harassment - judicial decisions Key Concepts existentialism self‑reflection social criticism Questions to Reflect On - What personal fears do you use to excuse harmful actions? - How can we hold ourselves accountable without invoking eternal damnation? A Different Perspective The argument may overlook systemic pressures that shape behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [So long as God reveals Himself, or doesn't, He is behaving like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/so-long-as-god-reveals-himself-or-doesn-t-he-is-behaving-like-god/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [You may wonder why a question of manners has got me so exercised. It's because I believe in a simple rule. 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You're either covering it, kicking it, kissing it, busting it, trying to get a piece of it or behaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-all-about-ass-you-re-either-covering-it-kicking-it-kissing-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is all about ass; you're either covering it,laughing it off, kicking it, kissing it, busting it, trying to get a piece of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-all-about-ass-you-re-either-covering-it-laughing-it-off/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know exactly who I am and where I come from. And my mom would bust my chops if I would suddenly start behaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weston-mckennie/i-know-exactly-who-i-am-and-where-i-come-from-and-my-mom-would-bust/) [Weston McKennie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weston-mckennie/) ## More by Fritz Leiber > [“The “Howard” in the entry had to be Howard Phillips Lovecraft , that twentieth-century puritanic Poe from Providence, with his regrettable but undeniable loathing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/the-howard-in-the-entry-had-to-be-howard-phillips-lovecraft-that/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [A scientist ought to have a healthy disregard for coincidences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/a-scientist-ought-to-have-a-healthy-disregard-for-coincidences/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [What do you care? You always liked loneliness better than you liked people. No offence liking yourself's the beginning of all love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/what-do-you-care-you-always-liked-loneliness-better-than-you-liked/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [Traffic growled and snarled, rising at times to a machine-gun rata-tat-tat, while pedestrians were scuttling about with that desperate ratlike urgency characteristic of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/traffic-growled-and-snarled-rising-at-times-to-a-machine-gun-rata-tat/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [“Certainly we’ve made important innovations, chief among them the systematic use of the scientific method,” he said at one point, “but the primitive groundwork…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/certainly-we-ve-made-important-innovations-chief-among-them-the/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [“Miss Millick wondered just what had happened to Mr. Wran. He kept making the strangest remarks when she took dictation. Just this morning he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/miss-millick-wondered-just-what-had-happened-to-mr-wran-he-kept/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [“Of course it had been an hallucination. 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Beyond the space of the astronauts and the astronomers, beyond the dark, tangled regions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/the-dark-dangerous-forest-is-still-there-my-friends-beyond-the-space/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [Not for the first time Richard reflected that this age's vaunted 'communications industry' had chiefly provided people and nations with the means of frightening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/not-for-the-first-time-richard-reflected-that-this-age-s-vaunted/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [Of course, if you assume a big enough conspiracy, you can explain anything, including the cosmos itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/of-course-if-you-assume-a-big-enough-conspiracy-you-can-explain/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) [Explore all 58 Fritz Leiber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) ## More Behaving quotes > [So long as God reveals Himself, or doesn't, He is behaving like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/so-long-as-god-reveals-himself-or-doesn-t-he-is-behaving-like-god/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [It's risky because any number of things are going to happen that nobody can foresee. 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Taught how we're supposed to pretend to be, taught to parrot all kinds of nonsense at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-re-herded-into-schools-and-terrified-into-behaving-taught-how-we/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Life is all about ass. You're either covering it, kicking it, kissing it, busting it, trying to get a piece of it or behaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-all-about-ass-you-re-either-covering-it-kicking-it-kissing-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every time I see somebody behaving truly insanely in real life, I think, 'Yes! I'm not over the top after all!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/every-time-i-see-somebody-behaving-truly-insanely-in-real-life-i/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [I was brought up to believe that human beings are good, which is why it shocks me to the core when I see human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/i-was-brought-up-to-believe-that-human-beings-are-good-which-is-why/) [Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/) Browse all 119 Behaving quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I ask you now, is any little thing like being damned eternally a satisfactory excuse for behaving like a complete rat?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fritz Leiber" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/i-ask-you-now-is-any-little-thing-like-being-damned-eternally-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behaving" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/i-ask-you-now-is-any-little-thing-like-being-damned-eternally-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/fritz-leiber-11218_quote_i-ask-you-now-is-any-little-thing-like-b_2001330.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/fritz-leiber-11218_quote_i-ask-you-now-is-any-little-thing-like-b_2001330.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/fritz-leiber-11218_quote_i-ask-you-now-is-any-little-thing-like-b_2001330.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I ask you now, is any little thing like being damned eternally a satisfactory excuse for behaving like a…” — Fritz Leiber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Fritz Leiber", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I ask you now, is any...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/i-ask-you-now-is-any-little-thing-like-being-damned-eternally-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/i-ask-you-now-is-any-little-thing-like-being-damned-eternally-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```