Cheap things Quote by Jack London
““We were talking about this yesterday," he said. "I held that life was a ferment, a yeasty something which devoured life that it might live, and that living was merely successful piggishness. Why, if there is anything in supply and demand, life is the cheapest thing in the world. There is only so much water, so much earth, so much air; but the life that is demanding to be born is limitless. Nature is a spendthrift. Look at the fish and their millions of eggs. For that matter, look at you and me. In our loins are the possibilities of millions of lives. Could we but find time and opportunity and utilize the last bit and every bit of the unborn life that is in us, we could become the fathers of nations and populate continents. Life? Bah! It has no value. Of cheap things it is the cheapest. Everywhere it goes begging. Nature spills it out with a lavish hand. Where there is room for one life, she sows a thousand lives, and it's life eats life till the strongest and most piggish life is left.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: "The Sea-Wolf", 1904
Life is portrayed as abundant yet cheap, driven by survival and competition.
In simple terms: Life is abundant but cheap, driven by survival.
Recognize life's value beyond survival.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- resource management
- population studies
- ethical debates
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What makes life valuable beyond utility?
- How should society balance abundance and dignity?
May ignore moral value of individual life.