“I will far rather see the race of man extinct than that we should become less than beasts by making the noblest of God's creation, woman, the object of our lust.”
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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 (writings on chastity/self-restraint and opposition to birth control, ~1920s); no dated primary citation located.
About this quote
Reducing another person to an instrument of appetite hollows out the one who does it as much as it wrongs the other. Genuine respect means seeing a whole human being whose dignity can't be traded for gratification; discard that, and what's actually lost is your own humanity.
When to use it
- A workplace where people refuse to let a colleague be treated as an object rather than a person.
- A relationship in which one partner insists on being valued as a whole person, not merely used.
- Teaching a teenager that respect means seeing others as people, never as things to be taken.