Quite often good things have harmful consequences. There are instances of men who have been ruined by their money or killed by their courage. Aristotle
He that makes his law a curse; by his own law shall surely die. William Blake
There’s no need to hang about waiting for the last judgment; it takes place every day. Albert Camus
God gives each his due at the time allotted. Euripides
The response man has the greatest difficulty in tolerating is pity, especially when he warrants it. Hatred is a tonic, it makes one live, it inspires vengeance, but pity kills, it makes our weakness weaker. Balzac
Half of the results of a good intention are evil; half the results of an evil intention are good. Mark twain
Since women do most delight in revenge, it may seem but feminine manhood to be vindictive. Sir Thomas Browne
In imperialism nothing fails like success. If the conqueror oppresses his subjects, they will become fanatical patriots, and sooner or later have their revenge; if he treats them well, and governs them for their good, they will multiply faster than their rulers, till they claim their independence. William Ralph Inge
The laws of changeless justice bind oppressor and oppressed; and, close as sin and suffering joined we march to fate abreast. John Whittier
Revenge is a much more punctual paymaster than gratitude. Charles Caleb Colton
Speaking generally, punishment hardens and numbs, it produces concentration, it sharpens the consciousness of alienation, and it strengthens the power of resistance. Nietzsche
The consequences of our actions take hold of us quite indifferent to our claim that meanwhile we have improved. Nietzsche
There’s no limit to how complicated things can get, on account of one thing always leading to another. E. B. White
Punishment without justice is bearable. Besides, it has a name which guarantees our innocents; misfortune. Albert Camus
Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness. Confucius
There exists among the intolerable degraded, the perverse and powerful desire to force into the arena of the actual those fantastic crimes of which they have been accused, achieving their vengeance and their own destruction through making the nightmare real. James Baldwin
Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it does singe yourself. Shakespeare
According to one memoirist growing up with the Indonesian fayu tribe:
If I were a fayu warrior, and a member of a different clan killed my brother, I, along with my entire family and clan, would have the obligation to avenge his death, the same as if we believed them to have cursed him with some disease. The retribution would not be limited to the offending party, but could justifiably include any member of his clan. For the purposes of the blood feud, people within a clan were viewed as interchangeable, and any death would satisfy the demand for revenge. In turn, this clan would be obligated to avenge the death of the person I killed, and thus continue the cycle of violence. Source: Child of the Jungle: The True Story of a Girl Caught between two Worlds by Sabine Kuegler.
Deep childhood hurts are always recalled, no matter the fame or eminence achieved by the later adult. In her memoir, actress Maureen O'Hara recounts, in terms of her favorite doll:
My brother Charlie and his friend Sam Lombard kidnapped my plastic doll and then burned her at the stake in a game of Cowboys and Indians. I was so traumatized by it that I swore revenge, that I'd make Sam Lombard Pay for what he had done. … We were all at the beach. I watched Sam playing in the sand without a care in the world. I sneaked up behind him when his back was turned, locked my arms around him tightly and then carried him out to the sea. I walked him right into the water and held him down under it, letting him up for air only when I saw the panic in his eyes. “That’s for my doll,” I said with a smile. Then I casually walked back to the shore and continued with my sand castle.
Source: Tis Herself: An Autobiography by Maureen O'Hara and John Nicoletti
