“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”

— Terry Pratchett , book Jingo

Variant: Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.
Source: Jingo

Last update Sept. 29, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." by Terry Pratchett?

Terry Pratchett 796

English author 1948–2015

Related quotes

“I know it's not thematically in tune with my new job and all, but I find it effective. Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day," I say. "But set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. Tao of Pratchett. I live by it.”

Jim Butcher Cold Days

Source: Cold Days

“Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret. Drop him out a window, and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden's secret. Ripeness was all.”

Joseph Heller book Catch-22

Source: Catch-22 (1961)
Context: Yossarian was cold, too, and shivering uncontrollably.... It was easy to read the message in his entrails. Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret. Drop him out a window and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden's secret. Ripeness was all.

“if you give a man a fish he'll eat for a day, if you teach a man to fish he'll eat all the fish you may have caught for yourself”

Meg Cabot book Darkest Hour

Source: Darkest Hour

“The fire that warms us can also consume us; it is not the fault of the fire.”

Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) Indian Hindu monk and phylosopher

“They abhor the courage of manly men. They hate the man who thinks. They long for revenge. They warm their hands at the imaginary fires of hell.”

Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) Union United States Army officer

The Truth (1896)
Context: They put a monster—a master—a tyrant in the sky, and seek to enslave their fellow-men. They teach the cringing virtues of serfs. They abhor the courage of manly men. They hate the man who thinks. They long for revenge. They warm their hands at the imaginary fires of hell. I show them that hell does not exist and they denounce me for destroying their consolation.