Be More Human
There is a thought I hear quite often. It’s presented with such confidence that those who say it seem to think the matter settled. This is how it goes: humans are most human when they surrender to their appetites and abandon all to instinct. To resist one’s impulse is to deny one’s self. Remarkably, this sounds similar to the way we understand animals to be.
Rather than further this notion –that to be human we must be animals– I would like to present its opposite. Humans do not need to aspire to be animals, rather, animals should aspire to be more like humans, and what better way than to drink tea with clothes on?
Here’s a series of animals drinking tea painted … in tea!
“If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you.” ~Gladstone, 1865
You can find more of his work online at zachfranzen.com and on Instagram @zachfranzen.
- A Time to Recalibrate - September 19, 2025
- King Arthur and the Giant of Mont Saint Michel - August 6, 2025
- Be More Human - February 17, 2020
These are great. Those giraffes are making my day better.
So much expression – love these, especially the hippopotamus.
These are all great, but my two favorites are the giraffes and the hippo/croc–can’t you just hear the raucous laughter?
I LOVE these. AND I love the words countering an errant assumption, however popular.
Yes! I was just telling someone the other day that CS Lewis’ made a (sort of strange) statement to the effect that training pets, making them more human, is one way we reflect God’s character. It seemed far-fetched to me, until I saw it as the opposite of the lie that we are most human when we are most animal.
Love these paintings. The tonality (is that the right word?) of the tea is just beautiful.
And is it just me, or is the Hippo/Croc conversation going something like,
Right on, JW.
That’s a great caption!
I guess training pets might be a way to bring order out of disorder–sort of like mowing one’s lawn. I hadn’t thought of it in quite that way before.
An excellent and well illustrated perspective, Zach. I especially like the “lion and lamb” implications of some of these pictures. Also, I couldn’t help but notice that the chicken and mouse appear to be naked—and nude guests are rude guests, says I.
Chickens and mice are absolute savages.
Chickens and mice are absolute savages.
Thanks for the kind words everyone.
I love the illustrations, but I really love your comment on the false idea that humans should be more instinctual. You really hit the nail on the head, and I felt that “Oh, of course that’s the case” feeling that I usually get when reading Chesterton. (Which is a compliment of the highest degree, I should add!) Thanks so much for writing this, and for the neat paintings!