“I don't see why I should bow my head when I could hold it high, or place it in the hands of my enemies when I can defeat them.”

—  José Rizal

Last update Feb. 13, 2022. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I don't see why I should bow my head when I could hold it high, or place it in the hands of my enemies when I can defea…" by José Rizal?
José Rizal photo
José Rizal 64
Filipino writer, ophthalmologist, polyglot and nationalist 1861–1896

Related quotes

Tove Jansson photo
Karen Marie Moning photo
Abraham Lincoln photo

“Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States

His response when "accused of treating his opponents with too much courtesy and kindness, and when it was pointed out to him that his whole duty was to destroy them", as quoted in More New Testament Words (1958) by William Barclay; either this anecdote or Lincoln's reply may have been adapted from a reply attributed to Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund:
:* Some courtiers reproached the Emperor Sigismond that, instead of destroying his conquered foes, he admitted them to favour. “Do I not,” replied the illustrious monarch, “effectually destroy my enemies, when I make them my friends?”
::* "Daily Facts" in The Family Magazine Vol. IV (1837), p. 123 http://books.google.de/books?id=aW0EAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA123&dq=destroy; also quoted as simply in "Do I not effectually destroy my enemies, in making them my friends?" in The Sociable Story-teller (1846)
Disputed

Brian Andreas photo
Conor Oberst photo
Warren Zevon photo

“You know I hate it when you put your hand inside my head
And switch all my priorities around.
Why don't you go pick on someone your own size instead?”

Warren Zevon (1947–2003) American singer-songwriter

"I'll Slow You Down"
Life'll Kill Ya (2000)

John Cheever photo

“When I remember my family, I always remember their backs. They were always indignantly leaving places. That’s the way I remember them, heading for an exit.”

John Cheever (1912–1982) American novelist and short story writer

Quoted by Susan Cheever, Home before Dark Houghton Mifflin (1984).

Tibullus photo

“May I look on thee when my last hour comes; may I hold thy hand, as I sink, in my dying clasp.”
Te spectem, suprema mihi cum venerit hora,<br/>Et teneam moriens deficiente manu.

Tibullus (-50–-19 BC) poet and writer (0054-0019)

Te spectem, suprema mihi cum venerit hora,
Et teneam moriens deficiente manu.
Bk. 1, no. 1, line 59.
Variant translation: May I be looking at you when my last hour has come, and dying may I hold you with my weakening hand.
Elegies

Related topics