--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As to the human race. There are many…" description: "\"As to the human race. There are many pretty and winning things about the human race. It is perhaps the poorest of all the inventions of all the gods bu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5df/mark-twain-22_appreciation_as-to-the-human-race-there-are-many-pret_589710.png" --- # As to the human race. There are many pretty and winning… ![“As to the human race. There are many pretty and winning things about the human race. It is perhaps the poorest of all the inventions of all the gods but it has never suspected it once. There is nothing prettier than its naive and complacent appreciation of itself. It comes out frankly and…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5df/mark-twain-22_appreciation_as-to-the-human-race-there-are-many-pret_589710.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5df/mark-twain-22_appreciation_as-to-the-human-race-there-are-many-pret_589710.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5df/mark-twain-22_appreciation_as-to-the-human-race-there-are-many-pret_589710.png) > “As to the human race. There are many pretty and winning things about the human race. It is perhaps the poorest of all the inventions of all the gods but it has never suspected it once. There is nothing prettier than its naive and complacent appreciation of itself. It comes out frankly and proclaims without bashfulness or any sign of a blush that it is the noblest work of God. It has had a billion opportunities to know better, but all signs fail with this ass. I could say harsh things about it but I cannot bring myself to do it-it is like hitting a child.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He paradoxically praises humanity’s self‑appreciation while critiquing its naiveté and failure to improve despite many chances. **In simple terms:** Humanity loves itself but often repeats mistakes. Key Takeaway Recognize both humanity’s strengths and its blind spots. Themes humanity pride naiveté critique self‑reflection Mood cynical thoughtful critical Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - political discourse - education - personal introspection Key Concepts philosophy ethics social commentary Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance humility with self‑praise? - What steps can humanity take to learn from its failures? A Different Perspective His harsh tone may alienate readers seeking constructive critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) [Bashfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bashfulness/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Invention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invention/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [If I can win a Cup race, that would pretty much show my whole career that I've been able to win in everything I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-pruett/if-i-can-win-a-cup-race-that-would-pretty-much-show-my-whole-career/) [Scott Pruett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-pruett/) > [People were touchingly naive at the dawn of the Internet revolution when they said the Internet will route around censorship the way it routes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/people-were-touchingly-naive-at-the-dawn-of-the-internet-revolution/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [The newspaper that obstructs the law on a trivial pretext, for money's sake, is a dangerous enemy to the public weal. That awful power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-newspaper-that-obstructs-the-law-on-a-trivial-pretext-for-money-s/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. It is far better that you fear the media, for they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/do-not-fear-the-enemy-for-your-enemy-can-only-take-your-life-it-is/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Mere bashfulness without merit is awkwardness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/mere-bashfulness-without-merit-is-awkwardness/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Perhaps a maiden's bashfulness is more A matron's lesson than our lips aver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-austin/perhaps-a-maiden-s-bashfulness-is-more-a-matron-s-lesson-than-our/) [Alfred Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-austin/) > [There are two distinct sorts of what we call bashfulness; this, the awkwardness of a booby, which a few steps into the world will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mackenzie/there-are-two-distinct-sorts-of-what-we-call-bashfulness-this-the/) [Henry Mackenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mackenzie/) > [No cause more frequently produces bashfulness than too high an opinion of our own importance. He that imagines an assembly filled with his merit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-cause-more-frequently-produces-bashfulness-than-too-high-an/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“If we all knew that we were all perverts, we might be a lot happier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/if-we-all-knew-that-we-were-all-perverts-we-might-be-a-lot-happier/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [Women who are the least bashful are not unfrequently the most modest; and we are never more deceived than when we would infer any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/women-who-are-the-least-bashful-are-not-unfrequently-the-most-modest/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Bashfulness is an ornament to youth, but a reproach to old age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/bashfulness-is-an-ornament-to-youth-but-a-reproach-to-old-age/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [I am not likely to die of bashfulness but neither am I prepared to be crucified to attest the perfection of my art. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/i-am-not-likely-to-die-of-bashfulness-but-neither-am-i-prepared-to-be/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [He, full of bashfulness and truth, loved much, hoped little, and desired naught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torquato-tasso/he-full-of-bashfulness-and-truth-loved-much-hoped-little-and-desired/) [Torquato Tasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torquato-tasso/) > [Not that I am ashamed of my mind or body, my birth or breeding, my actions or fortunes, for my bashfulness is in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cavendish/not-that-i-am-ashamed-of-my-mind-or-body-my-birth-or-breeding-my/) [Margaret Cavendish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cavendish/) > [Mere bashfulness without merit is awkward; and merit without modesty, insolent. But modest merit has a double claim to acceptance, and generally meets with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/mere-bashfulness-without-merit-is-awkward-and-merit-without-modesty/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Appreciation quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [A very small percentage of the people in this world will actually experience and live today. So many people will be stuck on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/a-very-small-percentage-of-the-people-in-this-world-will-actually/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Stop chasing the things you want and embrace all that you already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-chasing-the-things-you-want-and-embrace-all-that-you-already-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Appreciation is the purest vibration that exists on the planet today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/appreciation-is-the-purest-vibration-that-exists-on-the-planet-today/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“My thank-yous always come out rather labored. I often don't give them at all. People do what they're supposed to do and then wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-thank-yous-always-come-out-rather-labored-i-often-don-t-give-them/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Like gratitude, authentic appreciation in the workplace is a realisation that can be nurtured and accessed with daily mindful practice. By and large, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dines/like-gratitude-authentic-appreciation-in-the-workplace-is-a/) [Christopher Dines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dines/) > [Think of your mind, your emotions, and your spirit as the ultimate garden. The way to ensure a bountiful, nourishing harvest is to plant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/think-of-your-mind-your-emotions-and-your-spirit-as-the-ultimate/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“Recognize and appreciate little things, and enjoy what Life has to offer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-nikko-caharian-iii/recognize-and-appreciate-little-things-and-enjoy-what-life-has-to/) Cesar Nikko Caharian III > [Men, when it comes to women, value diamonds and put no stock into copper. Diamonds are rare. You can find copper anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/men-when-it-comes-to-women-value-diamonds-and-put-no-stock-into/) Enhance Dreams > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Browse all 2,528 Appreciation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As to the human race. There are many pretty and winning things about the human race. It is perhaps the poorest of all the inventions of all the gods but it has never suspected it once. There is nothing prettier than its naive and complacent appreciation of itself. It comes out frankly and proclaims without bashfulness or any sign of a blush that it is the noblest work of God. 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