“The humanitarian in theory is the terrorist in action.”

— Isabel Paterson

Source: The God of the Machine (1943), p. 242

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The humanitarian in theory is the terrorist in action." by Isabel Paterson?

Isabel Paterson 17

author and editor 1886–1961

Related quotes

“A sense of proportion and humanitarian action are not issues for terrorists. Their aim is that of killing and destroying.”

Boris Yeltsin (1931–2007) 1st President of Russia and Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR

Speech at a summit of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Istanbul, Turkey, as quoted in BBC World Service (19 November 1999)
1990s

“If the communist theories and philosophies are so rational and humanitarian, and if, as they contend, man is basically both rational and humanitarian, why have bloody violence and force been necessary to gain their ends?”

Phillip Abbott Luce (1935–1998)

Source: The Intellectual Student’s Guide to Survival (1968), p. 57

“Action without theory is reckless; theory without action is worthless.”

Paul Glover (1947) Community organizer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; American politician

(speech at Center for Popular Economics, Summer Institute), 2006-07-27

“As the Pacific approaches the Cyclone Season, it is important to consider the fact that this is an important opportunity to further strengthen localise humanitarian action in the Pacific.”

Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa (1957) Samoan politician

Source: Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa (2021) cited in: " Shining a light on NZ's aid sector and its relationship with the Pacific https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/454383/shining-a-light-on-nz-s-aid-sector-and-its-relationship-with-the-pacific" in RNZ, 27 October 2021.

“Humanitarian aid by a country that is selling weapons to mercenaries, which they are using to strike a civilian peaceful population? I propose that Israel send that aid to the mercenaries and to the terrorists as the logical continuation of its activities.”

Nikol Pashinyan (1975) Prime Minister of Armenia

Source: In an interview with Jerusalem Post https://www.primeminister.am/en/interviews-and-press-conferences/item/2020/11/03/Nikol-Pashinyan-Interview-Jerusalem-Post/ (November 3, 2020)

“Thought and theory must precede all salutary action; yet action is nobler in itself than either thought or theory.”

Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English writer

Sometimes ascribed to Virginia Woolf, but it appeared as early as 1854 in Anna Jameson's A Commonplace Book of Thoughts, Memories and Fancies, where it is ascribed to William Wordsworth.
Misattributed

“Thought and theory must precede all action that moves to salutary purposes. Yet action is nobler in itself than either thought or theory.”

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) English Romantic poet

Attributed by Anna Jameson in her A Commonplace Book of Thoughts, Memories and Fancies (1854).

“An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet

This expression is widely misattributed to Emerson in journalism, tweets, and memes on the internet. This quotation in an earlier phrasing of Jared Eliot's statement “It used to be the Saying of an old Man, That an Ounce of Experience is better than a Pound of Science.” (Essays upon Field Husbandry, 1748; quotation reprinted in "Jared Eliot, Minister, Physician, Farmer" by Rodney H. True. Agricultural History Vol. 2, No. 4 (Oct., 1928) https://www.jstor.org/stable/3739311, p199). The quote has also been misattributed to Friedrich Engels, a claim possibly originating from the 1975 book The Strange Case of Victor Grayson by Reg Groves ( link http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Udk7LCxtvugJ:socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2010_05_02_archive.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us)
Misattributed

“On the Syrian border, the situation is worsening day by day. In the next few weeks we expect new waves of refugees. If action is not taken quickly there is the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe.”

Simon Faddoul (1958) Maronite Catholic bishop

Source: President of Lebanese Caritas: On the Syrian border there is risk of a humanitarian catastrophe https://www.asianews.it/news-en/President-of-Lebanese-Caritas:-On-the-Syrian-border-there-is-risk-of-a-humanitarian-catastrophe-24184.html (2012)

“If I were a Palestinian at the right age, I would have joined one of the terrorist organizations at a certain stage…The actions of the Palestinian terrorist organizations, which harm women and children, are grave, despicable and heinous.”

Ehud Barak (1942) Israeli politician and prime minister

Interview by Gideon Levi, March 1998

“The humanitarian in theory is the terrorist in action.”

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Isabel Paterson 17

Related quotes

Related topics