--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thus godlike sympathy grows and thrives…" description: "\"Thus godlike sympathy grows and thrives and spreads far beyond the teachings of churches and schools, where too often the mean, blinding, loveless doct..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/john-muir-678_animal_thus-godlike-sympathy-grows-and-thrives_626362.png" --- # Thus godlike sympathy grows and thrives and spreads far… ![“Thus godlike sympathy grows and thrives and spreads far beyond the teachings of churches and schools, where too often the mean, blinding, loveless doctrine is taught that animals have no rights that we are bound to respect, and were only made for man, to be petted, spoiled, slaughtered or enslaved.” quote by John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/john-muir-678_animal_thus-godlike-sympathy-grows-and-thrives_626362.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/john-muir-678_animal_thus-godlike-sympathy-grows-and-thrives_626362.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/john-muir-678_animal_thus-godlike-sympathy-grows-and-thrives_626362.png) > “Thus godlike sympathy grows and thrives and spreads far beyond the teachings of churches and schools, where too often the mean, blinding, loveless doctrine is taught that animals have no rights that we are bound to respect, and were only made for man, to be petted, spoiled, slaughtered or enslaved.” [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates extending moral consideration beyond humans, critiquing doctrines that deny animal rights and urging respect for all living beings. **In simple terms:** Animals deserve respect and rights. Key Takeaway Treat animals with compassion and fairness. Themes ethics environment animal rights compassion Mood advocacy inspirational Type ethical environmental When to use this quote - activism - policy making - education - personal lifestyle choices - community outreach Key Concepts moral philosophy ecology rights theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you influence others to respect animals? - What practical steps can you take today? A Different Perspective Cultural resistance to animal rights can be strong. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-ethics/) [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Doctrine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Godlike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/godlike/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pet/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) ## Related quotes > [“If we understand “rights” to be legal protection against harm, then many animals already do have rights, and the idea of animal rights is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-r-sunstein/if-we-understand-rights-to-be-legal-protection-against-harm-then-many/) [Cass R. Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-r-sunstein/) > [I was very concerned about helping animals improve their situations. But that was out of love. It wasn't political or out of a belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-simon/i-was-very-concerned-about-helping-animals-improve-their-situations/) [Sam Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-simon/) > [Animals have few rights, but they have every right to be here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-douglas/animals-have-few-rights-but-they-have-every-right-to-be-here/) [Anthony Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-douglas/) > [“In Germany, Dodd had noticed, no one ever abused a dog, and as a consequence dogs were never fearful around men and were always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/in-germany-dodd-had-noticed-no-one-ever-abused-a-dog-and-as-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Animals have rights, to be smothered with garlic and butter!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/animals-have-rights-to-be-smothered-with-garlic-and-butter/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [“The world isn't only meant for humans to enjoy it, it has also a duty to give animals rights and freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilly-granger/the-world-isn-t-only-meant-for-humans-to-enjoy-it-it-has-also-a-duty/) Lilly Granger > [I just love animals, and I'm an advocate for animals rights, and my family has rescued dogs from all over the world. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesha/i-just-love-animals-and-i-m-an-advocate-for-animals-rights-and-my/) [Kesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesha/) > [Humanity evolves when we realise that animals have the same rights to the Earth as we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/humanity-evolves-when-we-realise-that-animals-have-the-same-rights-to/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [There is animal rights and animals rights organizations like PETA, then there's animal welfare, which is very different than animal rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-goode/there-is-animal-rights-and-animals-rights-organizations-like-peta/) [Eric Goode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-goode/) > [I'm definitely an animal lover, and I stand up for all animals' rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-mennell/i-m-definitely-an-animal-lover-and-i-stand-up-for-all-animals-rights/) [Laura Mennell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-mennell/) > [We feel that animals have the same rights as retarded human nchild because they are equal mentally in terms of dependence on others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-pacheco/we-feel-that-animals-have-the-same-rights-as-retarded-human-nchild/) Alex Pacheco > [Animals should have rights and should be treated with compassion and empathy; we are their caretakers. If you don't have it in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-cleary/animals-should-have-rights-and-should-be-treated-with-compassion-and/) [Katie Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-cleary/) > [“Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky, and water was a real and active principle. In the animal and bird world there existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-luther-standing-bear/kinship-with-all-creatures-of-the-earth-sky-and-water-was-a-real-and/) Chief Luther Standing Bear > [The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance, is a positively outrageous example…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-assumption-that-animals-are-without-rights-and-the-illusion-that/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Standing before you as the advocate of the lower races, I declare what I believe cannot be gainsaid...that just so soon and so far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/standing-before-you-as-the-advocate-of-the-lower-races-i-declare-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by John Muir > [I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-will-follow-my-instincts-be-myself-for-good-or-ill-and-see-what/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [During my first years in the Sierra, I was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them, but I found no one half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/during-my-first-years-in-the-sierra-i-was-ever-calling-on-everybody/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [...full of God's thoughts, a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted grandeur and enthusiastic action, a new song, a place of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/full-of-god-s-thoughts-a-place-of-peace-and-safety-amid-the-most/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“Here are the roots of all the life of the valleys, and here more simply than elsewhere is the eternal flux of nature manifested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/here-are-the-roots-of-all-the-life-of-the-valleys-and-here-more/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/spring-work-is-going-on-with-joyful-enthusiasm/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Our lives are rounded with a sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/our-lives-are-rounded-with-a-sleep/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Another glorious day, the air as delicious to the lungs as nectar to the tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/another-glorious-day-the-air-as-delicious-to-the-lungs-as-nectar-to/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Long, blue, spiky-edged shadows crept out across the snow-fields, while a rosy glow, at first scarce discernible, gradually deepened and suffused every mountain-top, flushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/long-blue-spiky-edged-shadows-crept-out-across-the-snow-fields-while/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/this-grand-show-is-eternal-it-is-always-sunrise-somewhere-the-dew-is/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/when-one-tugs-at-a-single-thing-in-nature-he-finds-it-attached-to-the/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [In studying the fate of our forest king, we have thus far considered the action of purely natural causes only; but, unfortunately, man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/in-studying-the-fate-of-our-forest-king-we-have-thus-far-considered/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [The forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God; for they were the best he ever planted.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-forests-of-america-however-slighted-by-man-must-have-been-a-great/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Man seems to be the only animal whose food soils him, making necessary much washing and shield-like bibs and napkins. Moles living in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/man-seems-to-be-the-only-animal-whose-food-soils-him-making-necessary/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/as-long-as-i-live-i-ll-hear-waterfalls-and-birds-and-winds-sing-i-ll/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) [Explore all 409 John Muir quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## 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. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. 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? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thus godlike sympathy grows and thrives and spreads far beyond the teachings of churches and schools, where too often the mean, blinding, loveless doctrine is taught that animals have no rights that we are bound to respect, and were only made for man, to be petted, spoiled, slaughtered or enslaved.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Muir" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/thus-godlike-sympathy-grows-and-thrives-and-spreads-far-beyond-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/thus-godlike-sympathy-grows-and-thrives-and-spreads-far-beyond-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/john-muir-678_animal_thus-godlike-sympathy-grows-and-thrives_626362.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/john-muir-678_animal_thus-godlike-sympathy-grows-and-thrives_626362.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/john-muir-678_animal_thus-godlike-sympathy-grows-and-thrives_626362.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Thus godlike sympathy grows and thrives and spreads far beyond the teachings of churches and schools, where…” — John Muir", "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": "John Muir", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Thus godlike sympathy grows and thrives...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/thus-godlike-sympathy-grows-and-thrives-and-spreads-far-beyond-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/thus-godlike-sympathy-grows-and-thrives-and-spreads-far-beyond-the/#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 } } ] } ```