I know that the Kaiser incarnates all there is of brute force and of murder. And yet I would not, if I had the power, kill the Kaiser. I would do to him what Thomas Paine wanted to do to the king of England. He said, "Destroy the king, but save the man.
death mercy murder punishment revenge

About This Quote

About Eugene V. Debs

Eugene V. Debs was a 19th-century American labor and political leader. Eugene Victor Debs was an American socialist activist and trade unionist. He was one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a five-time candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States; through his presidential candidacies as well as his work with labor movements, Debs eventually became one of the best-known socialists living in the United States. Read more on Wikipedia →

Themes

  • Death — Contemplations on mortality, loss, and the legacy we leave

More quotes by Eugene V. Debs

“Sooner or later every war of trade becomes a war of blood.”
— Eugene V. Debs
blood trade war

“While there is a lower class, I am in it. While there is a criminal element, I am of it.While there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”
— Eugene V. Debs
class crime freedom poverty

“Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on the earth. I said then and I say now, that while there is a lower c...”
— Eugene V. Debs
compassion freedom humanity inequality

“While there is a lower class I am in it. While there is a criminal element I am of it. While there is a soul in prison I am not free.”
— Eugene V. Debs
classes prison society

“While there is a lower class, I am in it, while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”
— Eugene V. Debs
debs eugene politics socialist

“In every age it has been the tyrant, the oppressor and the exploiter who has wrapped himself in the cloak of patriotism, or religion, or both to deceive and overawe the People.", June 16, 1918)”
— Eugene V. Debs
deception exploitation fundamentalism oppression
View all quotes by Eugene V. Debs →

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