An American monkey, after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus is much wiser than most men.

Summary

This quote suggests that a monkey from America, when exposed to the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption, learns from its experience and avoids repeating the behavior. The quote implies that the monkey's ability to learn from mistakes and change its behavior makes it wiser than many humans who tend to persistently engage in harmful or destructive actions despite negative consequences. It questions humans' comparatively higher level of self-destructive behavior and suggests that animals can sometimes display greater wisdom than humans in certain situations.

Topics