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If something's just, I'll let myself be hacked to bits for it.
Emile Zola
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of fighting for justice, even at great personal cost.

Emile Zola's quote reflects a profound commitment to justice and the readiness to endure severe consequences for the principles of fairness and morality. By stating he would 'let myself be hacked to bits,' Zola powerfully conveys the idea that true justice may require significant sacrifice, reflecting a courageous stand against wrongdoing, even when it poses a personal risk. This dedication highlights the moral responsibility individuals have to advocate for what is right, regardless of the potential fallout.

Themes

JusticeSacrificeCourageMoralityPrinciples

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech at a protest rally advocating for equality.

More from Emile Zola

Blow the candle out, I don't need to see what my thoughts look like.
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I believe that all is illusion and vanity outside the treasure of truths slowly accumulated, and which will never again be lost. I believe that the sum of these truths, always increasing, will at last confer on man incalculable power and peace, if not happiness. Yes, I believe in the final triumph of life.
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A ruined man fell from her hands like a ripe fruit, to lie rotting on the ground.
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Oh, the fools, like a lot of good little schoolboys, scared to death of anything they've been taught is wrong!
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Did not one spend the first half of one's days in dreams of happiness and the second half in regrets and terrors?
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They dared not peer down into their own natures, down into the feverish confusion that filled their minds with a kind of dense, acrid mist.
Emile ZolaRead

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