Meaning of this Quote?
POSTED BY: EcksVanguard
UPDATED: Saturday, February 28, 2004 00:33
VIEWED: 11064
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"Live with a man for 40 years. Eat the same meals, speak with him on every subject, then tie him up and hold him over the mouth of a volcano. On that day, you will meet the man".
Firefly script rox, but whats this one really mean?
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It means Shan Yu (and Niska) believe you only really know someone's character when you observe how they react to suffering -- the more suffering, the 'truer' the revelations about their character. And what suffering is greater than torture?
RIVER
Purple elephants are flying.
MAL
Good. Thanks for the update.
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It means, to see a man's true character, you need to put him in danger. That way, hiding his emotions, faking his emotions, lying about motives, etc. loose their priority, and you get to see the man either rise or shrink from the occasion as his worth dictates.
Howdy, ya'll. Long time no write!
Fox sucks! Viva Firefly!
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So whats the point with living with him?
Why don't you just storm into his living room and tie him up from the start?
Whats with this delay torture?!
I have other people to string up and volcanos to visit!
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Quote:
Originally posted by EcksVanguard:
So whats the point with living with him?
Why don't you just storm into his living room and tie him up from the start?
Whats with this delay torture?!
I have other people to string up and volcanos to visit!
I agree... that's good plan and a whole lot more efficient. Although the "barge in, shot 'em in the kneecap and hang 'em out the window" plan works well too.
"We will rise again!"
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The point is to know the man you will torture. While it would work to barge in and shoot, you would have no point of reference to understand if it was just false bravado or real fear. Courage or an act.
Know your enemy, or in this case victim.
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Quote:
Originally posted by EcksVanguard:
So whats the point with living with him?
Why don't you just storm into his living room and tie him up from the start?
The quote is trying to say you can live with a man for forty years, speaking on every subject, etc. AND STILL NOT REALLY KNOW THE MAN, BUT if you hold him over the edge of the volcano (threaten/torture him) then you will truly know the man. It's not saying that you have to wait forty years before you can torture anyone, just contrasting two ways of learning about a person and saying that the latter (torture) is a much truer way to learn about a person's character than the latter (forty years of chatter)
RIVER
Purple elephants are flying.
MAL
Good. Thanks for the update.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Shiny:
The quote is trying to say you can live with a man for forty years, speaking on every subject, etc. AND STILL NOT REALLY KNOW THE MAN, BUT
Yes, the "BUT" is the important part. It's making a comparison, not suggesting that you do both.
I just realized Disney's Mulan had Shan Yu in it. He's that tall, well-groomed Mongolian who plays with dollies.
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Sure'n he meant that you *could* live with a man for years and never really know what he's like. Perhaps that point just a frog's hair from death is the only time anyone exhibits, or even realizes, their true self. Okay, that got a little deeper than I intended it to when I set out. A joke then. What has four legs, is green and would kill you if it fell out of a tree? A pool table.
Mary
Always a beast, never a burden. 
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