--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world would sooner bury a live rat…" description: "\"“The world would sooner bury a live rat than it would a dead lion”\" — Agona Apell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ef/agona-apell-31807_inspirational-quotes_the-world-would-sooner-bury-a-live-rat-t_920080.jpg" --- # The world would sooner bury a live rat than it would a… ![“The world would sooner bury a live rat than it would a dead lion” quote by Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ef/agona-apell-31807_inspirational-quotes_the-world-would-sooner-bury-a-live-rat-t_920080.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ef/agona-apell-31807_inspirational-quotes_the-world-would-sooner-bury-a-live-rat-t_920080.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ef/agona-apell-31807_inspirational-quotes_the-world-would-sooner-bury-a-live-rat-t_920080.jpg) > ““The world would sooner bury a live rat than it would a dead lion”” [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid metaphor highlighting how society values the dead over the living. **In simple terms:** Society values dead over living. Key Takeaway Question societal priorities. Themes social critique value life vs death Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - political discourse - media analysis - activism Key Concepts cultural commentary ethical judgment Questions to Reflect On - Why do we glorify the dead? - How can we honor the living? A Different Perspective May be hyperbolic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dead Lion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-lion-507154/) [Inspirational quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-quotes/) [Live Rat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-rat-1417875/) [Rat Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rat-dead-1417876/) [Sooner Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-bury-1417874/) [World Sooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-sooner-1417877/) ## Related quotes > [“They who take it amiss that the world was not sooner   created, may as well expostulate with God for not having made   innumerable worlds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/they-who-take-it-amiss-that-the-world-was-not-sooner-created-may-as/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Americans have got it so dinged into them that they are the most fortunate people on Earth, and that the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/americans-have-got-it-so-dinged-into-them-that-they-are-the-most/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [Even a hare, the weakest of animals, may insult a dead lion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/even-a-hare-the-weakest-of-animals-may-insult-a-dead-lion/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [It was a confusion of ideas between him and one of the lions he was hunting in Kenya that had caused A. B. Spottsworth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/it-was-a-confusion-of-ideas-between-him-and-one-of-the-lions-he-was/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [A living dog is better than a dead lion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/a-living-dog-is-better-than-a-dead-lion/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [Hares can gambol over the body of a dead lion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/hares-can-gambol-over-the-body-of-a-dead-lion/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [If you have any shame, forbear to pluck the beard of a dead lion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/if-you-have-any-shame-forbear-to-pluck-the-beard-of-a-dead-lion/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/it-may-be-better-to-be-a-live-jackal-than-a-dead-lion-but-it-is/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [He who does not understand that a dead lion is more alive than a living dog will remain a dog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/he-who-does-not-understand-that-a-dead-lion-is-more-alive-than-a/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > ['A living dog is better than a dead lion.' Judge Douglas, if not a dead lion for this work, is at least a caged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-living-dog-is-better-than-a-dead-lion-judge-douglas-if-not-a-dead/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Better a live dog than a dead lion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hoffman/better-a-live-dog-than-a-dead-lion/) [Paul Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hoffman/) > [I thought you'd rather have a live donkey than a dead lion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-shackleton/i-thought-you-d-rather-have-a-live-donkey-than-a-dead-lion/) [Ernest Shackleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-shackleton/) > [“A living dog's better than a dead lion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/a-living-dog-s-better-than-a-dead-lion/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“I faced the "dead lion" courageously but will definitely run if I meet a roaring one...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bahterawan/i-faced-the-dead-lion-courageously-but-will-definitely-run-if-i-meet/) [Bahterawan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bahterawan/) > [ Do not pluck the beard of a dead lion. \[Lat., Noli Barbam vellere mortuo leoni.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/do-not-pluck-the-beard-of-a-dead-lion-lat-noli-barbam-vellere-mortuo/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) ## More by Agona Apell > [“Oratory is the highest form of music”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/oratory-is-the-highest-form-of-music/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“It is not courage that makes us speak the truth, but it is a hunger for truth that makes us courageous”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/it-is-not-courage-that-makes-us-speak-the-truth-but-it-is-a-hunger/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“When all trees are gone, the world will be a jungle -- for trees are not the jungle but our faithful refuge from it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/when-all-trees-are-gone-the-world-will-be-a-jungle-for-trees-are-not/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“In sweetness nothing surpasses love reborn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/in-sweetness-nothing-surpasses-love-reborn/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“There are things to be obtained by law and things to be obtained by claw”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/there-are-things-to-be-obtained-by-law-and-things-to-be-obtained-by/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“To fly strong with broken wings, to wax eloquent with but a pinch of words, to race into hearts and history with one leg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/to-fly-strong-with-broken-wings-to-wax-eloquent-with-but-a-pinch-of/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“The law is not an ass but a chameleon in ass skin: it turns deathly black when around blacks and pristine white when around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/the-law-is-not-an-ass-but-a-chameleon-in-ass-skin-it-turns-deathly/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“If it is legitimate to kill in self-defence then it must be equally legitimate to steal in self-defence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/if-it-is-legitimate-to-kill-in-self-defence-then-it-must-be-equally/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“The world is fast becoming a corporate caliphate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/the-world-is-fast-becoming-a-corporate-caliphate/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“When love heals, scars are scarce”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/when-love-heals-scars-are-scarce/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“While the alchemist of old sought to turn lead into gold, the modern alchemist has a more noble dream: to turn men from rot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/while-the-alchemist-of-old-sought-to-turn-lead-into-gold-the-modern/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“While reason steers a man, it is faith alone that moves him”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/while-reason-steers-a-man-it-is-faith-alone-that-moves-him/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“If our prehistoric ancestors visited us today they would find that while we now dwell in different huts, the hearts that dwell in us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/if-our-prehistoric-ancestors-visited-us-today-they-would-find-that/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“A rain forest springs from the droppings of animals and grows greater than any cultivated garden; likewise, a great mass of literary skill springs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/a-rain-forest-springs-from-the-droppings-of-animals-and-grows-greater/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) > [“Men who attain great heights always have few friends but many admirers, while those who ply the lower reaches of fortune often have many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agona-apell/men-who-attain-great-heights-always-have-few-friends-but-many/) [Agona Apell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) [Explore all 16 Agona Apell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agona-apell/) ## More Inspirational quotes quotes > [I have learned that you can go anywhere you want to go and do anything you want to do and buy all the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c-2/i-have-learned-that-you-can-go-anywhere-you-want-to-go-and-do/) [C JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c-2/) > [“Listen to your heart and trust the direction you are being pulled. 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