--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But the question is, whether the animals…" description: "\"But the question is, whether the animals who endure such sufferings of various kinds for the service and entertainment of man, would accept existence u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/james-boswell-7136_accepting_but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals_2417725.jpg" --- # But the question is, whether the animals who endure such… ![“But the question is, whether the animals who endure such sufferings of various kinds for the service and entertainment of man, would accept existence upon the terms on which they have it.” quote by James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/james-boswell-7136_accepting_but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals_2417725.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/james-boswell-7136_accepting_but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals_2417725.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/james-boswell-7136_accepting_but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals_2417725.jpg) > “But the question is, whether the animals who endure such sufferings of various kinds for the service and entertainment of man, would accept existence upon the terms on which they have it.” [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) ## 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 questions whether animals, subjected to suffering for human benefit, would consent to such conditions if they could choose. **In simple terms:** Animals might not agree to being used for entertainment and work. Key Takeaway Consider the ethics of using animals for human purposes. Themes ethics animal rights humanity Mood thoughtful concerned Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - animal testing - zoo entertainment - farm labor - research subjects Key Concepts utilitarianism sentience moral agency Questions to Reflect On - Do we have a duty to protect animals from exploitation? - How does human benefit weigh against animal suffering? A Different Perspective Animals cannot voice consent, making moral judgments complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-existence-751795/) [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal - rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-rights/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Animals Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-endure-3557653/) [Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/) [Endure Sufferings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure-sufferings-4110837/) [Entertainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Question Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-animals-539447/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Sufferings Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufferings-various-6108112/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/various/) ## Related quotes > [The question is not can animals speak but can they suffer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-question-is-not-can-animals-speak-but-can-they-suffer/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [I used to suffer particularly because the poor animals must endure so much pain and want. The sight of an old, limping horse being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/i-used-to-suffer-particularly-because-the-poor-animals-must-endure-so/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [Fear not to look back. It might not be the end of it all. Maybe someone is waiting for you to be seen. Maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/fear-not-to-look-back-it-might-not-be-the-end-of-it-all-maybe-someone/) [Louaiq8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/) > [ “The Messiah enters \[the Hall of the Sons of Illness\] and summons all the diseases and all the pains and all the sufferings of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-l-brown/the-messiah-enters-the-hall-of-the-sons-of-illness-and-summons-all/) [Michael L. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-l-brown/) > [Mind's requirements and expectations cannot be fulfilled. Existence has no obligation to fulfill mind's requirements and demands. You have to accept existence as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/mind-s-requirements-and-expectations-cannot-be-fulfilled-existence/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“If I had had the power to prevent my own birth I should certainly never have consented to accept existence under such ridiculous conditions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/if-i-had-had-the-power-to-prevent-my-own-birth-i-should-certainly/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [Once you accept the existence of God - however you define him, however you explain your relationship to him - then you are caught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/once-you-accept-the-existence-of-god-however-you-define-him-however/) [Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/) > [Old age is your own creation: it can be a misery, it can be a celebration; it can be simply a despair, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/old-age-is-your-own-creation-it-can-be-a-misery-it-can-be-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [For one who feels compelled, as I do, to accept the existence of the Master Architect, it is important to examine his handiwork for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/for-one-who-feels-compelled-as-i-do-to-accept-the-existence-of-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Actually, I think most people accept the existence of qualia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chalmers/actually-i-think-most-people-accept-the-existence-of-qualia/) [David Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chalmers/) > [I can accept the theory of relativity as little as I can accept the existence of atoms and other such dogmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mach/i-can-accept-the-theory-of-relativity-as-little-as-i-can-accept-the/) [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) > [What is there possibly left for us to be afraid of, after we have dealt face to face with death and not embraced it?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-is-there-possibly-left-for-us-to-be-afraid-of-after-we-have/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [This search for perfection - which is a search for divinity - is nothing more than the failure to accept our existence the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/this-search-for-perfection-which-is-a-search-for-divinity-is-nothing/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [“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/) ## More by James Boswell > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Drinking is in reality an occupation which employs a considerable portion of the time of many people; and to conduct it in the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/drinking-is-in-reality-an-occupation-which-employs-a-considerable/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [“His OFELLUS in the Art of Living in London, I have heard him relate, was an Irish painter, whom he knew at Birmingham, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/his-ofellus-in-the-art-of-living-in-london-i-have-heard-him-relate/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [If a man who is born to a fortune cannot make himself easier and freer than those who are not, he gains nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/if-a-man-who-is-born-to-a-fortune-cannot-make-himself-easier-and/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [He had no settled plan of life, nor looked forward at all, but merely lived from day to day. Yet he read a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/he-had-no-settled-plan-of-life-nor-looked-forward-at-all-but-merely/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Nay, Sir, it was not the WINE that made your head ache, but the SENSE that I put into it' 'What, Sir! will sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/nay-sir-it-was-not-the-wine-that-made-your-head-ache-but-the-sense/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Have a sense of piety ever on your mind, and be ever mindful that this is subject to no change, but will last you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/have-a-sense-of-piety-ever-on-your-mind-and-be-ever-mindful-that-this/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [There is indeed a strange prejudice against Quotation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/there-is-indeed-a-strange-prejudice-against-quotation/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [We must take our friends as they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/we-must-take-our-friends-as-they-are/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [ \[A\]s a lady adjusts her dress before a mirror, a man adjusts his character by looking at his journal. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/a-s-a-lady-adjusts-her-dress-before-a-mirror-a-man-adjusts-his/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [We had some port, and drank damnation to the play and eternal remorse to the author.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/we-had-some-port-and-drank-damnation-to-the-play-and-eternal-remorse/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [I find I journalize too tediously. Let me try to abbreviate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/i-find-i-journalize-too-tediously-let-me-try-to-abbreviate/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [ In comparing these two writers, he \[Samuel Johnson\] used this expression: "that there was as great a difference between them as between a man… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/in-comparing-these-two-writers-he-samuel-johnson-used-this-expression/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [I make it a kind of pious rule to go to every funeral to which I am invited, both as I wish to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/i-make-it-a-kind-of-pious-rule-to-go-to-every-funeral-to-which-i-am/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [All censure of a man's self is oblique praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/all-censure-of-a-man-s-self-is-oblique-praise/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) [Explore all 94 James Boswell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But the question is, whether the animals who endure such sufferings of various kinds for the service and entertainment of man, would accept existence upon the terms on which they have it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Boswell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals-who-endure-such-sufferings-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accepting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals-who-endure-such-sufferings-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/james-boswell-7136_accepting_but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals_2417725.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/james-boswell-7136_accepting_but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals_2417725.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/james-boswell-7136_accepting_but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals_2417725.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But the question is, whether the animals who endure such sufferings of various kinds for the service and…” — James Boswell", "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": "James Boswell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But the question is, whether the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals-who-endure-such-sufferings-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/but-the-question-is-whether-the-animals-who-endure-such-sufferings-of/#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 } } ] } ```