“Ethically they had arrived at the conclusion that man’s supremacy over the lower animals meant not that the former should prey upon the latter, but that the higher should protect the lower,”
Share this quote
Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: Attributed to Gandhi's Autobiography (The Story of My Experiments with Truth), Part I (London Vegetarian Society); a truncated third-person fragment.
About this quote
Standing above someone — in power, strength, or position — is cast here as a duty to shelter them, not a chance to feed on them. The stronger party's advantage becomes the very reason to guard the weaker, which turns dominance into responsibility rather than appetite.
When to use it
- A manager who shields a junior from blame instead of using seniority to offload it.
- An older sibling who looks out for the younger kids rather than bossing them around.
- A landlord with all the leverage who still fixes a struggling tenant's heat the same day.