What is mankind?

Famous quotes containing the word mankind:

“Unless they are immediate victims, the majority of mankind behaves as if war was an act of God which could not be prevented; or they behave as if war elsewhere was none of their business. It would be a bitter cosmic joke if we destroy ourselves due to atrophy of the imagination.”
—Martha Gellhorn (b. 1908)

“The common behavior of mankind is the system of reference by means of which we interpret an unknown language.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)

“But these Russians are too romantic—too exaltés; they give way to a morbid love of martyrdom; they think they can do no good to mankind unless they are uncomfortable.”
—H. Seton Merriman (1862–1903)