“All men kill the thing they hate, too, unless, of course, it kills them first.”

"The Crow and the Scarecrow", The New Yorker (date unknown); Further Fables for Our Time (1956). This is derived from Oscar Wilde's statement "All men kill the thing they love..."
From Fables for Our Time and Further Fables for Our Time

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 "All men kill the thing they hate, too, unless, of course, it kills them first." by James Thurber?
James Thurber photo
James Thurber 90
American cartoonist, author, journalist, playwright 1894–1961

Related quotes

Jean Rostand photo

“Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god.”

Jean Rostand (1894–1977) French writer

See also "The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic." (misattributed to Joseph Stalin)

“Kill the gringo. What I mean is we must kill the gringo economically and politically but not necessarily physically unless, of course, the worst comes to the worst.”

José Ángel Gutiérrez (1944) American academic

page 10523 of HOUSE OF REPRESE.NTATIVES-Monday, April 28, 1969. This is on page 27/99 of the part 8-5 PDF https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1969-pt8/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1969-pt8-5.pdf ( archive http://archive.is/753l4). According to Behnken this was said "a few weeks later" to clarify the preceding MAYO rally quote. Gonzalez describes it as "Last Tuesday, at Kingsville" indicating it was said 22 April 1969.

Elie Wiesel photo

“Which is worse? Killing with hate or killing without hate?”

Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor
Voltaire photo

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”

Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer, historian, and philosopher

Il est défendu de tuer; tout meurtrier est puni, à moins qu’il n’ait tué en grande compagnie, et au son des trompettes.
"Rights" (1771)
Citas, Questions sur l'Encyclopédie (1770–1774)

William Shakespeare photo

“The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.”

Dick the Butcher, Act IV, scene ii.
Henry VI, Part 2 (1592)
Source: King Henry VI, Part 2

Anthony Burgess photo
Halldór Laxness photo
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley photo

Related topics