I love the old way best, the simple way of poison, where we too are strong as men.
EuripidesRead
Our ancestors... purged their guilt by banishment, not death. And by so doing, they stopped that endless vicious cycle of murder and revenge.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that our forebears avoided the cycle of violence through banishment instead of execution, promoting peace over revenge.
Euripides reflects on the choices made by our ancestors in addressing guilt and conflict. By opting for banishment as a means of dealing with transgressions rather than resorting to death, they broke the cycle of retribution that often leads to ongoing violence and suffering. This speaks to the importance of finding constructive resolutions to conflict, emphasizing that mercy can be more effective than punishment in fostering a more peaceful society.
Themes
AncestorsGuiltBanishmentPeaceViolenceRevenge
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on conflict resolution, one could invoke this quote to propose non-violent approaches.
More from Euripides
All quotes βMankind . . . possesses two supreme blessings. First of these is the goddess Demeter, or Earth whichever name you choose to call her by. It was she who gave to man his nourishment of grain. But after her there came the son of Semele, who matched her present by inventing liquid wine as his gift to man. For filled with that good gift, suffering mankind forgets its grief; from it comes sleep; with it oblivion of the troubles of the day. There is no other medicine for misery.
EuripidesRead
Money is far more persuasive than logical arguments.
EuripidesRead
Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad.
EuripidesRead
Who then will dare to say I'm weak or timid? No, they'll say I'm loyal as a friend, ruthless as a foe, so much like a hero destined for glory.
EuripidesRead
Waste not fresh tears over old griefs.
EuripidesRead
Similar quotes
A thief is a man in need. A liar is a man in fear.
Khalil GibranRead
It would be foolish to suggest that government is a good custodian of aesthetic goals. But, there is no alternative to the state.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
The road to tyranny, we must never forget, begins with the destruction of the truth.
William J. ClintonRead
Continue to execute all the express provisions of our national Constitution, and the Union will endure forever-it being impossible to destroy it, except by some action not provided for in the instrument itself.
Abraham LincolnRead
We should like to have some towering geniuses, to reveal us to ourselves in colour and fire, but of course they would have to fit into the pattern of our society and be able to take orders from sound administrative types.
J. B. PriestleyRead
War is harmful, not only to the conquered but to the conqueror. Society has arisen out of the works of peace; the essence of society is peacemaking. Peace and not war is the father of all things. Only economic action has created the wealth around us; labor, not the profession of arms, brings happiness. Peace builds, war destroys.
Ludwig Von MisesRead