Human soul Quote by Vera Brittain
““It is quite impossible to understand,’ I commented afterwards, ‘how we can be such strong individualists, so insistent on the rights and claims of every human soul, and yet at the same time countenance (and if we are English, even take quite calmly) this wholesale murder, which if it were applied to animals or birds or indeed anything except men would fill us with a sickness and repulsion greater than we could endure.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Testaments of the Great War by Vera Brittain, 1933
The paradox of championing individual rights while tolerating mass violence reveals deep moral inconsistency.
In simple terms: We claim freedom but accept cruelty.
Key Takeaway
Examine personal values versus societal actions.
Themes
morality
human rights
war
hypocrisy
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- political activism
- education
- peace advocacy
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
ethical paradox
collective responsibility
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you reconcile personal ethics with societal norms?
- What actions can expose this hypocrisy?
A Different Perspective
Human nature often rationalizes violence, making change difficult.
![“[I] wondered if he was looking up at that same moon, far away, and thinking of me as I was thinking of him.” quote by Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b3f/vera-brittain-12183_quote_i-wondered-if-he-was-looking-up-at-that_455225.jpg)
![“Organized religion has a part in the evolution of personal religion. It is the material upon which personal religion is grafted, but the process of grafting must be individual. Every human soul must, through thought, prayer, and study, cultivate his [sic] own religion to suit himself.” quote by Lily Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7f3/lily-montagu-82141_evolution_organized-religion-has-a-part-in-the-evo_7761.jpg)
![“[W]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range of music, and will not vibrate in the least under a touch that fills others with tremulous rapture or quivering agony.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9be/george-eliot-84_agony_w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves_12409.jpg)
