A brute kills for pleasure. A fool kills from hate.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Heinlein contrasts senseless killing with hatred-driven killing to categorize violence.
- In plain terms
- Killing for pleasure or hate marks different moral failures.
- What can you take from it?
- Distinguish motives behind violence.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do people kill?
- What defines a brute?
Another view
Motives can be complex and mixed.
More from Robert A. Heinlein
A 'pacifist male' is a contradiction in terms. Most self-described 'pacifists' are not pacific; they simply assume false colors. When the wind changes, they ho…
Permalink to quote #43 A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.
Permalink to quote #45 A 'critic' is a man who creates nothing and thereby feels qualified to judge the work of creative men. There is logic in this; he is unbiased - he hates all cr…
Permalink to quote #42
Related quotes
A person can get used to anything, even to killing.
Yann MartellYann Martell quote #8 'As in the time of the swords and of the spears,so today,in the time of the missiles,before the weapon,the heart of the man kills'
John Paul II (Pope)John Paul II (Pope) quote #20 When a man bleeds inwardly, it is a dangerous thing for himself; but when he laughs inwardly, it bodes no good to other people.
Charles DickensCharles Dickens quote #22