Its typical of Mexico, of the whole human race perhaps - violence in favour of an ideal and then the ideal lost but the violence just going on.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Violence often outlasts the ideal that justified it in the first place.
- In plain terms
- Ideals get lost but violence continues anyway.
- What can you take from it?
- Watch out for violence becoming its own goal.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can ends justify means?
- Why does violence persist?
Another view
Some conflicts resolve only when the ideal is achieved.
More from Graham Greene
Perhaps his laughter saved them - it must be difficult to shoot a laughing man: you have to feel important to kill.
Permalink to quote #19 The old lady knelt, saying her 'Hail Mary'; She didn't believe - but among Catholics even the sceptical are courteous.
Permalink to quote #21 Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.
Permalink to quote #18
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