Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[syoshioka99]

The civilized man is distinguished from the savage mainly by prudence, or, to use a slightly wider term, forethought. He is willing to endure present pains for the sake of future pleasures, even if the future pleasures are rather distant. This habit began to be important with the rise of agriculture; no animal and no savage would work in the spring in order to have food next winter, except for a few purely instinctive forms of action, such as bees making honey or squirrels burying nuts. In these cases, there is no forethought; there is a direct impulse to an act which, to the human spectator, is obviously going to prove useful later on. True forethought only arises when a man does something towards which no impulse urges him, because his reason tells him that he will profit by it at some future date. Hunting requires no forethought, because it is pleasurable; but tilling the soil is labour, and cannot be done from spontaneous impulse.

(question1) what is "to the human spectator"??? Can you restate the phrase?

(question2) I'm not sure about the usage of "only" in the sentence below.
Does that mean "True forethought arises ONLY when a man does...?

True forethought only arises when a man does something towards which no impulse urges him,

(question3) I don't understand "when a man does something towards which no impulse urges him," Can I restate like this?:when a man does NOT do ANYthing towards which impulse urges him,"

Satoru
Tochigi, Japan

[CP]

1. The human spectator just means a person watching what the animal is doing. The author is saying that animals like bees and squirrels, making and hoarding food for the future, are doing it on instinct alone, not because they are planning for the future. A person watching the animals, on the other hand, knows immediately that the hoarding will come in handy later.

2. Yes, the "only" is misplaced. In speech and often in writing, people put the adverb "only" ahead of the verb instead of behind it, where it really belongs. The song "I Only Have Eyes For You" sounds great, but to be grammatically correct, it should be "I Have Eyes Only For You" or "For Only You."

3. The author is using "impulse" more or less to mean action spurred by unthinking desire, like hunting. By contrast are things done on reflection or forethought and planning, like farming.

The obvious argument against this position is that hunting requires planning and forethought, too, and in primitive societies often requires cooperation among the hunters to bring down the game. And, as your question implies, we could attribute every action to some sort of impulse.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[syoshioka99]

Thank you CP.

I have a few more questions I would like you to answer which you haven't answered.

(1) Can you restate the phrase "to the human spectator"?

(2) Can I restate the phrase "when a man does something towards which no impulse urges him," like this?(Yes or No:if no any suggestions?)


(restated phrase) when a man does NOT do ANYthing towards which impulse urges him,"

Satoru

Tochigi, Japan

[CP]

[CP]

I Only Have Eyes for You
By Al Dubin (lyrics) and Harry Warren (music)

My love must be a kind of blind love:
I can�t see anyone but you.
And dear, I wonder if you find love
An optical illusion, too?

Are the stars out tonight?
I don�t know if it�s cloudy or bright.
�Cause I only have eyes for you, dear.
The moon may be high,
But I can�t see a thing in the sky,
�Cause I only have eyes for you.

I don�t know if we�re in a garden
Or on a crowded avenue.
You are here, so am I,
Maybe millions of people go by,
But they all disappear from view.
And I only have eyes for you.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb