--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For instance? Well, for instance, what it…" description: "\"“For instance? Well, for instance, what it means to be a man. In a city. In a century. In transition. In a mass. Transformed by science. Under organize..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/saul-bellow-558_decline_for-instance-well-for-instance-what-it-m_2971771.jpg" --- # For instance? Well, for instance, what it means to be a… ![“For instance? Well, for instance, what it means to be a man. In a city. In a century. In transition. In a mass. Transformed by science. Under organized power. Subject to tremendous controls. In a condition caused by mechanization. After the late failure of radical hopes. In a society that was no…” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/saul-bellow-558_decline_for-instance-well-for-instance-what-it-m_2971771.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/saul-bellow-558_decline_for-instance-well-for-instance-what-it-m_2971771.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fe/saul-bellow-558_decline_for-instance-well-for-instance-what-it-m_2971771.jpg) > ““For instance? Well, for instance, what it means to be a man. In a city. In a century. In transition. In a mass. Transformed by science. Under organized power. Subject to tremendous controls. In a condition caused by mechanization. After the late failure of radical hopes. In a society that was no community and devalued the person. Owing to the multiplied power of numbers which made the self negligible. Which spent military billions against foreign enemies but would not pay for order at home. Which permitted savagery and barbarism in its own great cities. At the same time, the pressure of human millions who have discovered what concerted efforts and thoughts can do. As megatons of water shape organisms on the ocean floor. As tides polish stones. As winds hollow cliffs. The beautiful supermachinery opening a new life for innumerable mankind. Would you deny them the right to exist? Would you ask them to labor and go hungry while you yourself enjoyed old-fashioned Values? You—you yourself are a child of this mass and a brother to all the rest. or else an ingrate, dilettante, idiot. There, Herzog, thought Herzog, since you ask for the instance, is the way it runs.”” [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern society’s mechanization and mass power diminish individuality, yet collective effort can create profound change. **In simple terms:** Mass systems can erase the self, but collective action can reshape humanity. Key Takeaway Recognize individual value within collective movements. Themes individuality society technology power collective action Mood critical hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - Urban life - technological change - social activism Key Concepts existentialism social critique humanism Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain individuality in a mechanized world? - What collective actions align with your values? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on collective can suppress personal agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/) [Herzog Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/herzog-thought-4579488/) [Instance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instance/) [Instance Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instance-means-4579489/) [Machinery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machinery/) [Means Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-man-626267/) [Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [New life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-life/) [Obscurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurity/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Thought Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-herzog-2868258/) ## Related quotes > [“The wheels of the cars stormed underneath. Woods and pastures ran up and receded, the rails of sidings sheathed in rust, the dipping racing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-wheels-of-the-cars-stormed-underneath-woods-and-pastures-ran-up/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I pretended not to understand. One of life's hardest jobs, to make a quick understanding slow. I think I succeeded, thought Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-pretended-not-to-understand-one-of-life-s-hardest-jobs-to-make-a/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Because he let the entire world press upon him. For instance? Well, for instance, what it means to be a man. In a city.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/because-he-let-the-entire-world-press-upon-him-for-instance-well-for/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Modernism in other arts brought extreme difficulty. In poetry, the characteristic difficulty imported under the name of modernism was obscurity. But obscurity could just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/modernism-in-other-arts-brought-extreme-difficulty-in-poetry-the/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [He gave me his word. That means something to a man like Donovan Caine. 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'Man of God.' An odd name, isn't it? It teaches us that what we call angels are only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/do-you-know-what-that-means-man-of-god-an-odd-name-isn-t-it-it/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [When your single its not bad. It just means the man who loves you still hasn't had the guts to go up to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-your-single-its-not-bad-it-just-means-the-man-who-loves-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This means that to man God gave a degree of free will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-scott-latourette/this-means-that-to-man-god-gave-a-degree-of-free-will/) [Kenneth Scott Latourette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-scott-latourette/) > [The crazy thing is a lot of people - a lot of men, if I'm just speaking for myself - don't really start thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-parker/the-crazy-thing-is-a-lot-of-people-a-lot-of-men-if-i-m-just-speaking/) [Nate Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-parker/) > [If Hero means sincere man, why may not every one of us be a Hero?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/if-hero-means-sincere-man-why-may-not-every-one-of-us-be-a-hero/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [“Guess what? You’re a MILF too, which in my book means a man I’d like to forget.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-k-schiller/guess-what-you-re-a-milf-too-which-in-my-book-means-a-man-i-d-like-to/) [M.K. Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-k-schiller/) > [They want to beat the Don Dadda. It means, 'The Man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/they-want-to-beat-the-don-dadda-it-means-the-man/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) ## More by Saul Bellow > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-don-t-know-how-it-all-at-once-came-to-me-to-talk-a-lot-tell-jokes/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“For knowledge of death makes us wish to extend our lives at the expense of others. And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More Decline quotes > [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [When a man imagines, even after years of striving, that he has attained perfection, his decline begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-martin/when-a-man-imagines-even-after-years-of-striving-that-he-has-attained/) [Theodore Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-martin/) > [Low levels of vitamin D in the population as a whole suggest that most people need to take a vitamin D supplement. This may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/low-levels-of-vitamin-d-in-the-population-as-a-whole-suggest-that/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [The challenge is either to build an economy that is sustainable or to stay with our unsustainable economy until it declines. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-r-brown/the-challenge-is-either-to-build-an-economy-that-is-sustainable-or-to/) [Lester R. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-r-brown/) > [In my humble opinion, the PC as we have known it is in a continuous decline and being relegated to a utility device for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-ruiz/in-my-humble-opinion-the-pc-as-we-have-known-it-is-in-a-continuous/) [Hector Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-ruiz/) > [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [I think the rise of quantitative econometrics and a highly mathematical approach to risk management was the obverse of a decline in interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/i-think-the-rise-of-quantitative-econometrics-and-a-highly/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [To my way of thinking, the American family started to decline when parents began to communicate with their children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/to-my-way-of-thinking-the-american-family-started-to-decline-when/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Deflation means a slowdown of income growth. Markets shrink, new capital investment and employment also taper off, so wages decline. That is what's happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/deflation-means-a-slowdown-of-income-growth-markets-shrink-new/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [Prominent exploration experts have recently predicted that total world production of liquid oil will peak by about the end of this decade-or a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amory-lovins/prominent-exploration-experts-have-recently-predicted-that-total/) [Amory Lovins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amory-lovins/) > [In the 1970s, British food was beginning to get good, whereas in France it was just starting its long, sad decline. My most memorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/in-the-1970s-british-food-was-beginning-to-get-good-whereas-in-france/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [In all our academies we attempt far too much. ... In earlier times lectures were delivered upon chemistry and botany as branches of medicine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/in-all-our-academies-we-attempt-far-too-much-in-earlier-times/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [A decline in the national housing price level would need to be substantial to trigger a significant rise in foreclosures, because the vast majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/a-decline-in-the-national-housing-price-level-would-need-to-be/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [“A civilization, when the moment has come for crowds to acquire a high hand over it, is at the mercy of too many chances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-le-bon/a-civilization-when-the-moment-has-come-for-crowds-to-acquire-a-high/) [Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-le-bon/) > [Obviously it's true that as you go up the ranks, the number of women starts to decline. Whether that's because of 'self-deselection' or other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-lake/obviously-it-s-true-that-as-you-go-up-the-ranks-the-number-of-women/) [Marianne Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-lake/) [Browse all 851 Decline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For instance? Well, for instance, what it means to be a man. In a city. In a century. In transition. In a mass. Transformed by science. Under organized power. Subject to tremendous controls. In a condition caused by mechanization. After the late failure of radical hopes. In a society that was no community and devalued the person. Owing to the multiplied power of numbers which made the self negligible. Which spent military billions against foreign enemies but would not pay for order at home. Which permitted savagery and barbarism in its own great cities. At the same time, the pressure of human millions who have discovered what concerted efforts and thoughts can do. As megatons of water shape organisms on the ocean floor. As tides polish stones. As winds hollow cliffs. The beautiful supermachinery opening a new life for innumerable mankind. Would you deny them the right to exist? Would you ask them to labor and go hungry while you yourself enjoyed old-fashioned Values? You—you yourself are a child of this mass and a brother to all the rest. or else an ingrate, dilettante, idiot. 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