Quote#Nature
I have often thought, if it was not for this Tyranny which Custom…
Quote byBernard Mandeville · 1670–1733
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: The Fable of the Bees (1714), Remark P, p. 187.
English (original)
I have often thought, if it was not for this Tyranny which Custom usurps over us, that Men of any tolerable Good-nature could never be reconcil'd to the killing of so many Animals for their daily Food, as long as the bountiful Earth so plentifully provides them with Varieties of vegetable Dainties.
— Bernard Mandeville
More from Bernard Mandeville
The worst of all the Multitude Did something for the Common Good.
They put off hearings wilfully, To finger the refreshing fee.
Thus every Part was full of Vice, Yet the whole Mass a Paradise; Flatter'd in Peace, and fear'd in Wars, They were th' Esteem of Foreigners, And lavish of their Wealth and Lives, The Balance of all other Hives.
Thus Vice nurs'd Ingenuity, Which join'd with Time and Industry, Had carry'd Life's Conveniences, It's real Pleasures, Comforts, Ease, To such a Height, the very Poor Liv'd better than the Rich before.
Vast Numbers throng'd the fruitful Hive; Yet those vast Numbers made 'em thrive; Millions endeavouring to supply Each other's Lust and Vanity.
Luxury Employ'd a Million of the Poor, And odious Pride a Million more; Envy it self, and Vanity, Were Ministers of Industry; Their darling Folly, Fickleness,