"The difference between a civilised man and a barbarous fiend- a madman, say- lies, perhaps merely in a thin veneer of willed self-restraint."
The 'man' in this context, refers not to the humankind, but to the male sex in particular. It was said in the context of sexual desires. The text was previously discussing the sexual inclination of men, and how women became victims of the lust and personal desires of men.
Hence, in plain words, this remark is saying that, what separates and differentiates say, the fiend who tortured little Nurin from the other 'gentlemen' in our society, is that the latter willfully restraints their actions while the former does not and has thereby given in to his lust. In other words, the remark says that what goes through the minds of all guys is the same. The difference lies in whether those fantasies remain in the mind or are they being put into action.
Hmm.... how interesting... I do not know what goes through the male faculty of thoughts and intelligence, but I sure wonder if I will be surprised and shocked by the discovery of what goes through the minds of these people who cross my path every single day. Will it be an epiphany or will it be an anti-climax?
Guys, do leave a comment to shed light on this issue. Girls, feel free to add on or express yourselves.
2 comments:
Hmm, sounds interesting!!! Well, for me, i think that not all guys have the same kind of thoughts based on the remark. We can choose to refrain ourselves from having any sexual desires. This is because the word of God will teach and guide us on what is right and what is wrong. Thus, i would think that guys are able to control their emotions if they are well-equipped with God's word.
well...for me, sexual desires are God's gift that is meant to be enjoyed in the context of a binding relationship i.e. marriage. I am sorry to say this but we can't restrain from having sexual desires...it is in-built in us. But it has been marred with sin, just like everything else in this fallen world. We need God's grace to put sexual desires in its proper place. We can choose not to let sexual desires overcome us. Heck, if we coudl fully restrain our sexual desires, God's command not to look lustfully at a person would be obsolete. :p
God's Word helps us to identify our wide spectrum of emotions not to restrain it. If you read the Psalms, we can see David praising God, cursing his enemies in anger, calling darkness his closest friend in depression (Psalm 88) and so much more. we should express our emotions freely to God. Accept it. By the grace and strength of God, may we enjoy emotions as God intended it. We should be careful though on expressing emotions to Man as it may do more harm than good.
Poople without God in their lives can't control all this because they are enslaved to the sinful nature and will do what the sinful nature wants; they have no choice. We, om the other hand, are freed from the sinful nature and we have a choice: to follow sinful nature or to find refuge in God.
We guys don't understand girls either. hehe. we are all in the same boat. :P i guess physics and maths seems a lot easier to understand. :P
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