[General] "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." means...?

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rodgers white

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"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." means...?

Hi,there. What is your understanding of this quote by Samuel L. Johnson: "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man."? Many thanks if you can help.
 

tedmc

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Re: "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." means...?

It is easy enough to find the meaning of the quote through Google.
Simply put, it means that doing silly and outrageous things as in binge drinking, taking drugs, womanising, being mean, etc., is believed to help one to be desensitized to the pains of everyday life by being nonchalant to what you do not know or do not see. In other words, ignorance is bliss.
 

rodgers white

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Re: "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." means...?

Thank you. By the way, is that the true meaning that [FONT=&quot]Samuel L. Johnson conveyed?[/FONT]
 

Tdol

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Re: "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." means...?

That is how I would interpret it.
 
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