--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man is always something worse or…" description: "\"Man is always something worse or something better than an animal; and a mere argument from animal perfection never touches him at all. Thus, in sex no ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_animal_man-is-always-something-worse-or-somethi_3117783.png" --- # Man is always something worse or something better than an… ![“Man is always something worse or something better than an animal; and a mere argument from animal perfection never touches him at all. Thus, in sex no animal is either chivalrous or obscene. And thus no animal invented anything so bad as drunkeness - or so good as drink.” quote by Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_animal_man-is-always-something-worse-or-somethi_3117783.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_animal_man-is-always-something-worse-or-somethi_3117783.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_animal_man-is-always-something-worse-or-somethi_3117783.png) > “Man is always something worse or something better than an animal; and a mere argument from animal perfection never touches him at all. Thus, in sex no animal is either chivalrous or obscene. And thus no animal invented anything so bad as drunkeness - or so good as drink.” [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human nature is neither wholly noble nor wholly base; moral judgments cannot be reduced to animal analogies. **In simple terms:** People are more complex than simple animal comparisons. Key Takeaway Recognize moral complexity beyond animal traits. Themes ethics human nature philosophy Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - legal reasoning - ethical debates - personal reflection Key Concepts moral relativism anthropomorphism Questions to Reflect On - What limits do animal comparisons impose on moral thought? - Can we fully understand humanity through nature? A Different Perspective Animal analogies can oversimplify human behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something-better/) [Timeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timeless/) ## Related quotes > [No animal ever invented anything so bad as drunkeness - or so good as drink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-animal-ever-invented-anything-so-bad-as-drunkeness-or-so-good-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The medical argument for animal testing doesn't stand up. Even if it did, I don't think we should kill other species. We think we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/the-medical-argument-for-animal-testing-doesn-t-stand-up-even-if-it/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [“Sex for pleasure with various partners is therefore more “human” than animal. Strictly reproductive, once-in-a-blue-moon sex is more “animal” than human. In other words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ryan/sex-for-pleasure-with-various-partners-is-therefore-more-human-than/) [Christopher Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ryan/) > [“It is unsettling – and perhaps thrilling – to think that we Sapiens could at one time have sex with an animal from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/it-is-unsettling-and-perhaps-thrilling-to-think-that-we-sapiens-could/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“She grabbed her phone and texted her were friend. Philippa: Do weres have sex in animal form? 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Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Youth is always too serious, and just now it is too serious about frivolity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/youth-is-always-too-serious-and-just-now-it-is-too-serious-about/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Tradition does not mean a dead town; it does not mean that the living are dead but that the dead are alive. It means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/tradition-does-not-mean-a-dead-town-it-does-not-mean-that-the-living/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [It is shorter to state the things forbidden than the things permitted; precisely because most things are permitted and only a few things forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/it-is-shorter-to-state-the-things-forbidden-than-the-things-permitted/) [Gilbert K. 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Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Music with dinner is an insult both to the cook and the violinist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/music-with-dinner-is-an-insult-both-to-the-cook-and-the-violinist/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Eugenics asserts that all men must be so stupid that they cannot manage their own affairs; and also so clever that they can manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/eugenics-asserts-that-all-men-must-be-so-stupid-that-they-cannot/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) [Explore all 868 Gilbert K. Chesterton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. 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He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? 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