--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Revenge was personal as a rule. Otherwise…" description: "\"“Revenge was personal as a rule. Otherwise it was pointless.”\" — Charles Todd" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/charles-todd-17830_revenge_revenge-was-personal-as-a-rule-otherwise_1530305.jpg" --- # Revenge was personal as a rule. Otherwise it was pointless. ![“Revenge was personal as a rule. Otherwise it was pointless.” quote by Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/charles-todd-17830_revenge_revenge-was-personal-as-a-rule-otherwise_1530305.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/charles-todd-17830_revenge_revenge-was-personal-as-a-rule-otherwise_1530305.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/charles-todd-17830_revenge_revenge-was-personal-as-a-rule-otherwise_1530305.jpg) > ““Revenge was personal as a rule. Otherwise it was pointless.”” [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Revenge is justified only when it is directed at a personal offender; otherwise it lacks purpose. **In simple terms:** Personal revenge matters, otherwise it is meaningless. Key Takeaway Seek justice, not vengeance. Themes justice personal conflict morality Mood reflective somber Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - family feuds - legal disputes - personal betrayal - social retaliation Key Concepts retributive ethics personal grievance Questions to Reflect On - Is the desire for revenge worth the cost? - How can forgiveness replace retaliation? A Different Perspective It can perpetuate cycles of violence and harm innocents. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Personal Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-rule-3286606/) [Pointless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointless/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [Revenge Personal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge-personal-5676159/) [Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule/) [Rule Pointless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule-pointless-5676160/) ## Related quotes > [“CreativeMornings came out of a personal rule of mine that if I keep complaining about something, I need to change it or move on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/creativemornings-came-out-of-a-personal-rule-of-mine-that-if-i-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I make it a personal rule never to do anything that I don't really care about. It is surprising how much this cuts out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-koch/i-make-it-a-personal-rule-never-to-do-anything-that-i-don-t-really/) [Richard Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-koch/) > [My own personal rule is to tell jokes that I think the person I'm making them about can laugh at, to go home and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-ross/my-own-personal-rule-is-to-tell-jokes-that-i-think-the-person-i-m/) [Jeff Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-ross/) > [Of one thing the executive may be sure: that the majority want more of the good things of life, and if they can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-morley/of-one-thing-the-executive-may-be-sure-that-the-majority-want-more-of/) [Felix Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-morley/) > [My rule of writing is that no one can do what you can do, so jealousy or competitiveness are pointless. I am always happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hallie-ephron/my-rule-of-writing-is-that-no-one-can-do-what-you-can-do-so-jealousy/) [Hallie Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hallie-ephron/) > [Getting involved with pointless drama is stupid, there is more important things in life than to worry about than what someone thinks of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/getting-involved-with-pointless-drama-is-stupid-there-is-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had become a perfect fake human, saying the stupid and pointless things that humans say to each other all day long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/i-had-become-a-perfect-fake-human-saying-the-stupid-and-pointless/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [I walked 10 miles in this dark road but still,i didn't still see the ending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-chatto/i-walked-10-miles-in-this-dark-road-but-still-i-didn-t-still-see-the/) [Cath Chatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-chatto/) > [I love 'Pointless.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lycett/i-love-pointless/) [Joe Lycett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lycett/) > [Might have, could have, may have, should have—the haves and have nots reduced to pointless possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/might-have-could-have-may-have-should-have-the-haves-and-have-nots/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [We had the city trying to demolish two of our exhibition spaces, which was at first pretty disturbing. But following the freak-out is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsha-kaechele/we-had-the-city-trying-to-demolish-two-of-our-exhibition-spaces-which/) [Kirsha Kaechele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsha-kaechele/) > [There comes a time in your life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama and the people who create it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-comes-a-time-in-your-life-when-you-have-to-let-go-of-all-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not going to drag it out or make a point, because points are pointless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-jordan/i-m-not-going-to-drag-it-out-or-make-a-point-because-points-are/) [Simon Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-jordan/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [It's pointless to be critical of your stuff once it's done. I don't spend a lot of time agonising over it. It's of no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/it-s-pointless-to-be-critical-of-your-stuff-once-it-s-done-i-don-t/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) ## More by Charles Todd > [“But what kind of love? It had so many faces, so many names. Jealousy wove a thread around it, and envy, and fear. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/but-what-kind-of-love-it-had-so-many-faces-so-many-names-jealousy/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“Wishful thinking, that time might heal—it seldom healed anything, only making scars that were often tender to the touch, and ugly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/wishful-thinking-that-time-might-heal-it-seldom-healed-anything-only/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“a rough sort of child with a bullying nature and a particularly unclear concept of personal property.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/a-rough-sort-of-child-with-a-bullying-nature-and-a-particularly/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“When you watch the living force go out of a man’s face as you fire your weapon into his unprotected body, it is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/when-you-watch-the-living-force-go-out-of-a-man-s-face-as-you-fire/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“I was always a killer. It was my skill, and they’d taught me well. She taught me love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/i-was-always-a-killer-it-was-my-skill-and-they-d-taught-me-well-she/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“Now he realized that somehow those who had served in France and elsewhere knew a world that couldn’t be shared. How could he tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/now-he-realized-that-somehow-those-who-had-served-in-france-and/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“There have always been two standards,” Rutledge answered. “People called Fiona a whore, but there’s no name for a man who has an illegitimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/there-have-always-been-two-standards-rutledge-answered-people-called/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [I firmly believe as an author you have to go out in life and hear the stories of people. In pubs in the UK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/i-firmly-believe-as-an-author-you-have-to-go-out-in-life-and-hear-the/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“Children were quick to grasp the subtleties of emotions around them, to see through evasions and quickly identify prevarication.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/children-were-quick-to-grasp-the-subtleties-of-emotions-around-them/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“Courage is not measured by Marching bands and banners in the wind. If you have not walked The bloody lines and seen the faces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/courage-is-not-measured-by-marching-bands-and-banners-in-the-wind-if/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [I was a corporate trouble-shooter for many years, and I know what it is like to walk very carefully into a hostile environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/i-was-a-corporate-trouble-shooter-for-many-years-and-i-know-what-it/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“That's the point of working with one's hands, you see. It gives the mind something else to do besides worry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/that-s-the-point-of-working-with-one-s-hands-you-see-it-gives-the/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [My great uncle fought in WWI. His stories fascinated me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/my-great-uncle-fought-in-wwi-his-stories-fascinated-me/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“Guilt was—it was the agony of spirit that made every day bleak. The fear that you might not live up to the cost of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/guilt-was-it-was-the-agony-of-spirit-that-made-every-day-bleak-the/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“I hadn’t realized that a break in a bone could be so exquisitely painful. I’d feel a greater tolerance for the the wounded after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/i-hadn-t-realized-that-a-break-in-a-bone-could-be-so-exquisitely/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) [Explore all 35 Charles Todd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) ## More Pointless quotes > [It's pointless to be critical of your stuff once it's done. I don't spend a lot of time agonising over it. It's of no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/it-s-pointless-to-be-critical-of-your-stuff-once-it-s-done-i-don-t/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [I'm not going to drag it out or make a point, because points are pointless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-jordan/i-m-not-going-to-drag-it-out-or-make-a-point-because-points-are/) [Simon Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-jordan/) > [There comes a time in your life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama and the people who create it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-comes-a-time-in-your-life-when-you-have-to-let-go-of-all-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We had the city trying to demolish two of our exhibition spaces, which was at first pretty disturbing. But following the freak-out is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsha-kaechele/we-had-the-city-trying-to-demolish-two-of-our-exhibition-spaces-which/) [Kirsha Kaechele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsha-kaechele/) > [Might have, could have, may have, should have—the haves and have nots reduced to pointless possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/might-have-could-have-may-have-should-have-the-haves-and-have-nots/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [I love 'Pointless.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lycett/i-love-pointless/) [Joe Lycett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lycett/) > [I walked 10 miles in this dark road but still,i didn't still see the ending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cath-chatto/i-walked-10-miles-in-this-dark-road-but-still-i-didn-t-still-see-the/) [Cath Chatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cath-chatto/) > [I had become a perfect fake human, saying the stupid and pointless things that humans say to each other all day long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/i-had-become-a-perfect-fake-human-saying-the-stupid-and-pointless/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [Getting involved with pointless drama is stupid, there is more important things in life than to worry about than what someone thinks of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/getting-involved-with-pointless-drama-is-stupid-there-is-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Perhaps the meaning of all human activity lies in the artistic consciousness, in the pointless and selfless creative act? Perhaps our capacity to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/perhaps-the-meaning-of-all-human-activity-lies-in-the-artistic/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [“If you have no intention of loving or being loved then the whole journey is pointless”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/if-you-have-no-intention-of-loving-or-being-loved-then-the-whole/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/buddhism-teaches-that-a-craving-for-things-outside-ourselves-causes/) [Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/) > [“It's hard, and it's painful, and it's tiresome, and it's lonely, and if on top of i, you really don't think you're gonna make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/z-e-haslie/it-s-hard-and-it-s-painful-and-it-s-tiresome-and-it-s-lonely-and-if/) [Zøe Haslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/z-e-haslie/) > [If there's a God, I want to see Him. It's pointless to believe in something without proof, and Krishna consciousness and meditation are methods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/if-there-s-a-god-i-want-to-see-him-it-s-pointless-to-believe-in/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) [Browse all 557 Pointless quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointless/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Revenge was personal as a rule. Otherwise it was pointless.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Todd" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/revenge-was-personal-as-a-rule-otherwise-it-was-pointless/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pointless" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/revenge-was-personal-as-a-rule-otherwise-it-was-pointless/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/charles-todd-17830_revenge_revenge-was-personal-as-a-rule-otherwise_1530305.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/charles-todd-17830_revenge_revenge-was-personal-as-a-rule-otherwise_1530305.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10d/charles-todd-17830_revenge_revenge-was-personal-as-a-rule-otherwise_1530305.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Revenge was personal as a rule. Otherwise it was pointless.” — Charles Todd", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles Todd", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Revenge was personal as a rule....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/revenge-was-personal-as-a-rule-otherwise-it-was-pointless/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/revenge-was-personal-as-a-rule-otherwise-it-was-pointless/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```