“Je n'ai jamais pu comprendre comment on pouvait se sentir honoré de voir ses semblables humiliés.”
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Attribution note
The English original is a well-known, widely reproduced Gandhi line on human dignity; this candidate is a French translation, so the sentiment is authentically his but the text is a translated rendering, not the primary English wording.
Likely origin: French translation of a genuine Gandhi line: 'It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings.'
About this quote
There is no real honor in a rank that depends on someone else being pushed down. When pride feeds on another person's degradation, the feeling lasts only as long as their suffering does, which quietly corrodes the very worth it pretends to confer.
When to use it
- A team lead refuses to build himself up by mocking a junior's mistake in front of the whole meeting.
- A student declines to gloat when a rival fails the exam, seeing nothing to gain from it.
- At the dinner table, someone chooses not to score points over a sibling's recent setback.