--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Such terrifying powers we possess, but…" description: "\"“Such terrifying powers we possess, but what a sorry lot of gods some men are. And the worst of it is not the cruelty but the arrogance, the sheer hubr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/matthew-scully-12509_arrogance_such-terrifying-powers-we-possess-but-wh_2412749.png" --- # Such terrifying powers we possess, but what a sorry lot of… ![“Such terrifying powers we possess, but what a sorry lot of gods some men are. And the worst of it is not the cruelty but the arrogance, the sheer hubris of those who bring only violence and fear into the animal world, as if it needed any more of either. Their lives entail enough frights and…” quote by Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/matthew-scully-12509_arrogance_such-terrifying-powers-we-possess-but-wh_2412749.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/matthew-scully-12509_arrogance_such-terrifying-powers-we-possess-but-wh_2412749.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/matthew-scully-12509_arrogance_such-terrifying-powers-we-possess-but-wh_2412749.png) > ““Such terrifying powers we possess, but what a sorry lot of gods some men are. And the worst of it is not the cruelty but the arrogance, the sheer hubris of those who bring only violence and fear into the animal world, as if it needed any more of either. Their lives entail enough frights and tribulations without the modern fire-makers, now armed with perfected, inescapable weapons, traipsing along for more fun and thrills at their expense even as so many of them die away. It is our fellow creatures' lot in the universe, the place assigned them in creation, to be completely at our mercy, the fiercest wolf or tiger defenseless against the most cowardly man. And to me it has always seemed not only ungenerous and shabby but a kind of supreme snobbery to deal cavalierly with them, as if their little share of the earth's happiness and grief were inconsequential, meaningless, beneath a man's attention, trumped by any and all designs he might have on them, however base, irrational, or wicked.”” [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Powerful beings often misuse their strength, treating weaker creatures with cruelty and arrogance, forgetting the inherent value of all life. **In simple terms:** The strong act cruelly toward the weak, driven by hubris. Key Takeaway Recognize and curb arrogance toward weaker beings. Themes ethics power humility animal rights hubris Mood reflective critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - activism - environmental policy - education - personal reflection Key Concepts moral philosophy anthropocentrism speciesism Questions to Reflect On - How does power corrupt our view of weaker beings? - What responsibilities accompany strength? A Different Perspective Even the strong may claim moral superiority while causing harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) ## Related quotes > [“That’s what Lockie was—a little boy.It could do your head in if you thought too much about the cruelty that one person could inflict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trope/that-s-what-lockie-was-a-little-boy-it-could-do-your-head-in-if-you/) [Nicole Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trope/) > [“Merlin stepped forward until he was standing not more than an arm's length from Megan. He gestured toward the wolf. "Please, do not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-brackston/merlin-stepped-forward-until-he-was-standing-not-more-than-an-arm-s/) [Paula Brackston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-brackston/) > [“Amidst cruelty arrogance has its role, but you gotta tread with extreme caution. Arrogance laid on the wrong person is an appalling human rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/amidst-cruelty-arrogance-has-its-role-but-you-gotta-tread-with/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Dangerous forces lie within me. You awaken them, and not to your advantage. You know how to paint pleasure, cruelty, arrogance in glowing colors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/dangerous-forces-lie-within-me-you-awaken-them-and-not-to-your/) [Leopold von Sacher-Masoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/) > [Intelligence is derived from two words - inter and legere - inter meaning 'between' and legere meaning 'to choose'. An intelligent person, therefore, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-martin-klotsche/intelligence-is-derived-from-two-words-inter-and-legere-inter-meaning/) J. Martin Klotsche > [Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/timing-and-arrogance-are-decisive-factors-in-the-successful-use-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“I was consumed by a selfishness and arrogance that I didn't dare let go of until I found a new persona to hide behind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-koomson/i-was-consumed-by-a-selfishness-and-arrogance-that-i-didn-t-dare-let/) [Dorothy Koomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-koomson/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Never mistake someones quietness for their arrogance as you can surely miss out on an awsome personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-mistake-someones-quietness-for-their-arrogance-as-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [What you see of me on TV and all of that, that is me - that's truly how I feel. I'm just multiplying it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/what-you-see-of-me-on-tv-and-all-of-that-that-is-me-that-s-truly-how/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/wishes-for-sons-by-lucille-clifton-i-wish-them-cramps-i-wish-them-a/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) ## More by Matthew Scully > [“at their disposal. So they assemble in protests to convey their objections. What’s wrong with that? A similar outpouring came recently from American Walter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/at-their-disposal-so-they-assemble-in-protests-to-convey-their/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [Perhaps that is part of the animals' role among us, to awaken humility, to turn our minds back to the mystery of things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/perhaps-that-is-part-of-the-animals-role-among-us-to-awaken-humility/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [The truth is that at the White House and in Congress, you are as likely to find sympathy for animal issues among Republicans as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/the-truth-is-that-at-the-white-house-and-in-congress-you-are-as/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [Animals are more than ever a test of our character, of mankind's capacity for empathy and for decent, honorable conduct and faithful stewardship. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/animals-are-more-than-ever-a-test-of-our-character-of-mankind-s/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“When a man’s love of finery clouds his moral judgment, that is vanity. When he lets a demanding palate make his moral choices, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/when-a-man-s-love-of-finery-clouds-his-moral-judgment-that-is-vanity/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“In any case I just cannot imagine attaching so much importance to any food or treat that I would grow irate or bitter at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/in-any-case-i-just-cannot-imagine-attaching-so-much-importance-to-any/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [Factory farming, like comparable evils throughout history, depends for its existence upon concealment. It depends on people either not noticing or willfully averting their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/factory-farming-like-comparable-evils-throughout-history-depends-for/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [When we call something unfair or indecent or unconscionable or evil, when we speak of mercy and pity and compassion, those words have meaning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/when-we-call-something-unfair-or-indecent-or-unconscionable-or-evil/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [Regarding factory-farmed animals We owe them a merciful death, and we owe them a merciful life. And when human beings cannot do something humanely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/regarding-factory-farmed-animals-we-owe-them-a-merciful-death-and-we/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [An environmentalist can oppose factory farming because it's reckless stewardship. A conservative can oppose factory farming because it is destructive to small farmers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/an-environmentalist-can-oppose-factory-farming-because-it-s-reckless/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“I think he overlook a phase: that empathy stage in our lives when we may begin to see even the commonest animals on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/i-think-he-overlook-a-phase-that-empathy-stage-in-our-lives-when-we/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“The corporate farmer is the absent farmer, the stranger on his own property, too important to worry about little details like whether a pig…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/the-corporate-farmer-is-the-absent-farmer-the-stranger-on-his-own/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“Reforms will come as all great reforms have always come in ridding us of evils against both man and animal--not as we change our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/reforms-will-come-as-all-great-reforms-have-always-come-in-ridding-us/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“I know many people far more upright and conscientous than I am who disagree, who think nothing of it. I know that vegetarianism runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/i-know-many-people-far-more-upright-and-conscientous-than-i-am-who/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“If animals are just commodities, then we are just consumers, with no greater good than material pleasure and no higher law than appetite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/if-animals-are-just-commodities-then-we-are-just-consumers-with-no/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) [Explore all 54 Matthew Scully quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) ## More Arrogance quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/wishes-for-sons-by-lucille-clifton-i-wish-them-cramps-i-wish-them-a/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [What you see of me on TV and all of that, that is me - that's truly how I feel. I'm just multiplying it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/what-you-see-of-me-on-tv-and-all-of-that-that-is-me-that-s-truly-how/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Never mistake someones quietness for their arrogance as you can surely miss out on an awsome personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-mistake-someones-quietness-for-their-arrogance-as-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [“I was consumed by a selfishness and arrogance that I didn't dare let go of until I found a new persona to hide behind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-koomson/i-was-consumed-by-a-selfishness-and-arrogance-that-i-didn-t-dare-let/) [Dorothy Koomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-koomson/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/timing-and-arrogance-are-decisive-factors-in-the-successful-use-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [Closed some doors, not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they no longer lead somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenz-jeffrey/closed-some-doors-not-because-of-pride-incapacity-or-arrogance-but/) [Frenz Jeffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frenz-jeffrey/) > [My success isn't a result of arrogance - it's a result of belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/my-success-isn-t-a-result-of-arrogance-it-s-a-result-of-belief/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [“...a great man who is vicious will only be a great doer of evil, and a rich man who is not liberal will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cervantes/a-great-man-who-is-vicious-will-only-be-a-great-doer-of-evil-and-a/) Miguel Cervantes > [An increasing number of people are growing uncomfortable with the gulf between the world's rich and the poor. Ostentatiously splashing your money around simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/an-increasing-number-of-people-are-growing-uncomfortable-with-the/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) [Browse all 1,418 Arrogance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Such terrifying powers we possess, but what a sorry lot of gods some men are. And the worst of it is not the cruelty but the arrogance, the sheer hubris of those who bring only violence and fear into the animal world, as if it needed any more of either. Their lives entail enough frights and tribulations without the modern fire-makers, now armed with perfected, inescapable weapons, traipsing along for more fun and thrills at their expense even as so many of them die away. It is our fellow creatures' lot in the universe, the place assigned them in creation, to be completely at our mercy, the fiercest wolf or tiger defenseless against the most cowardly man. 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