We ask no favours of the enemy. We seek from them no compunction. On the contrary, if tonight our people were asked to cast their vote whether a convention should be entered into to stop the bombing of cities, the overwhelming majority would cry, 'No, we will mete out to them the measure, and more than the measure, that they have meted out to us.' The people with one voice would say: 'You have committed every crime under the sun. Where you have been the least resisted there you have been the most brutal. It was you who began the indiscriminate bombing. We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst - and we will do our best.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Churchill asserts that the British people would demand total retaliation against enemy bombings, rejecting truce and emphasizing moral symmetry in warfare.
- In plain terms
- He says Britain would fight back harder than the enemy attacks.
- What can you take from it?
- War often escalates when victims feel justified in retaliation.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is retaliation ever just?
- When does fighting end?
Another view
Escalation often leads to greater suffering without achieving peace.
More from Winston Churchill
If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons.
Permalink to quote #54 Never give in - never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yiel…
Permalink to quote #56 Hitler is a monster of wickedness, insatiable in his lust for blood and plunder. Not content with having all Europe under his heel, or else terrorised into var…
Permalink to quote #53
Related quotes
We are waiting for the long-promised invasion. So are the fishes.
Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill quote #48 I felt this war coming. I tried unsuccessfully to assassinate Hitler in 1945. I am not concerned with jurisdiction of the court as Hess or others are. History …
Albert SpeerAlbert Speer quote #1 Finally, she broke her silence and spelled it out to Dr. Burkley. Kneeling, John Kennedy's personal physician indicated her ghastly skirt with a trembling hand…
William ManchesterWilliam Manchester quote #1