Man has no more right to say an uncivil thing than to act one
According to me the meaning of this phrase is:
Man has equal right to say an uncivil thing and to act an uncivil thing.
Am I right?
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Sign up to join this communityMan has no more right to say an uncivil thing than to act one
According to me the meaning of this phrase is:
Man has equal right to say an uncivil thing and to act an uncivil thing.
Am I right?
You are essentially correct. However, "equal right" leaves out some of the implication of the sentence - a more complete rephrasing would be something like
Saying an uncivil thing is no better than doing an uncivil thing.
The original phrase uses "no more" to emphasize not simply that the actions are equal, but that they are equal in spite of what others might think (that saying something uncivil is a lesser offence). It's calling attention to the fact that someone might think they have more right to the former, but that the writer does not agree.