"Revenge... is like a rolling stone, which, when a man hath forced up a hill, will return upon him with a greater violence, and break those bones whose sinews gave it motion"
About this Quote
Revenge here isn’t framed as a moral problem so much as a physics problem: a heavy object set in motion by human effort, obeying gravity with pitiless accuracy. The genius of the image is how it strips vengeance of its glamour. No avenging angel, no righteous catharsis - just a man sweating to push a stone uphill, converting his own sinews into momentum that will later cash out as impact. The syntax does the work, too: “when a man hath forced up a hill” makes revenge feel unnatural, strained, willful. It requires labor. That’s the subtext: retaliation isn’t an instinctive reflex but a project, sustained by attention, rehearsal, and a choice to keep carrying the weight.
Schweitzer’s theological posture matters. As a Christian ethicist famous for “reverence for life,” he consistently resisted moral systems that dignify harm by calling it justice. This metaphor lets him critique revenge without sentimental appeals to forgiveness. It’s not “be kind”; it’s “be smart about consequences.” The “greater violence” line implies escalation: revenge compounds because it invites counter-revenge, recruits bystanders, and hardens identities around grievance. The person who initiated the cycle is uniquely exposed because he’s the one closest to the rolling mass - morally, socially, psychologically.
The final cruelty is anatomical: the stone “break[s] those bones whose sinews gave it motion.” The very capacities used to pursue payback - resolve, loyalty, pride, the will to act - become the liabilities. Schweitzer’s intent is surgical: to make revenge look less like power and more like self-authored wreckage.
Schweitzer’s theological posture matters. As a Christian ethicist famous for “reverence for life,” he consistently resisted moral systems that dignify harm by calling it justice. This metaphor lets him critique revenge without sentimental appeals to forgiveness. It’s not “be kind”; it’s “be smart about consequences.” The “greater violence” line implies escalation: revenge compounds because it invites counter-revenge, recruits bystanders, and hardens identities around grievance. The person who initiated the cycle is uniquely exposed because he’s the one closest to the rolling mass - morally, socially, psychologically.
The final cruelty is anatomical: the stone “break[s] those bones whose sinews gave it motion.” The very capacities used to pursue payback - resolve, loyalty, pride, the will to act - become the liabilities. Schweitzer’s intent is surgical: to make revenge look less like power and more like self-authored wreckage.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| Source | Later attribution: Albert Schweitzer (Albert Schweitzer) modern compilation
Evidence:
al life another is called to some striking selfsurrender which obliges him to set on one side all regard for his own progress let no one measure himself by his conclusions respecting someone else the destin |
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