--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never killed any one, but I have…" description: "\"I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction.\" — Clarence Darrow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/clarence-darrow-1714_clever_i-have-never-killed-any-one-but-i-have-r_1369501.png" --- # I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary… ![“I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction.” quote by Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/clarence-darrow-1714_clever_i-have-never-killed-any-one-but-i-have-r_1369501.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/clarence-darrow-1714_clever_i-have-never-killed-any-one-but-i-have-r_1369501.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/21d/clarence-darrow-1714_clever_i-have-never-killed-any-one-but-i-have-r_1369501.png) > “I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction.” [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admits a dark pleasure in reading obituaries, revealing a morbid curiosity about death and the fate of others. **In simple terms:** Finding satisfaction in others' deaths reveals a twisted curiosity. Key Takeaway Recognize and question harmful thoughts. Themes morbid curiosity death ethics humor societal norms Mood cynical darkly humorous reflective Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - personal introspection - literary analysis - psychology discussions - ethical debates Key Concepts nihilism schadenfreude existential reflection Questions to Reflect On - Why do we sometimes feel pleasure at others' misfortune? - How can we redirect morbid curiosity into constructive empathy? A Different Perspective Such enjoyment can desensitize empathy and foster cynicism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Ironic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ironic/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Killing a man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing-a-man/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Sarcasm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sarcasm/) [Sarcastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sarcastic/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Witty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witty/) ## Related quotes > [We're all killers at heart . . . . I have never taken anybody's life, but I have often read obituary notices with considerable satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/we-re-all-killers-at-heart-i-have-never-taken-anybody-s-life-but-i/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [If you ever become a mother, can I have one of the puppies?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-ever-become-a-mother-can-i-have-one-of-the-puppies/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never wanted to see anybody die, but there are a few obituary notices I have read with pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/i-never-wanted-to-see-anybody-die-but-there-are-a-few-obituary/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [“All men have an emotion to kill; when they strongly dislike some one they involuntarily wish he was dead. I have never killed any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/all-men-have-an-emotion-to-kill-when-they-strongly-dislike-some-one/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [We shall see later on that the diversity of the forms of death that circulate invisibly is the cause of the peculiar unexpectedness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-shall-see-later-on-that-the-diversity-of-the-forms-of-death-that/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [For every single dark night there is a brighter day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/for-every-single-dark-night-there-is-a-brighter-day/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [I won't say ours was a tough school, but we had our own coroner. We used to write songs like, "What I'm going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/i-won-t-say-ours-was-a-tough-school-but-we-had-our-own-coroner-we-2/) [Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/) > [No, Groucho is not my real name. I am breaking it in for a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-groucho-is-not-my-real-name-i-am-breaking-it-in-for-a-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, he's probably LK Advani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/if-you-love-someone-set-them-free-if-they-come-back-he-s-probably-lk/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [If you love someone, set them free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-love-someone-set-them-free/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I get up every morning and read the obituary column. If my name's not there, I eat breakfast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-get-up-every-morning-and-read-the-obituary-column-if-my-name-s-not/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [“It would be too much for me to deal with to be sitting up there next to God, Bon Scott, Sid Vicious, and Jimi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/it-would-be-too-much-for-me-to-deal-with-to-be-sitting-up-there-next/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [Read your own obituary notice; they say you live longer. Gives you second wind. New lease of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/read-your-own-obituary-notice-they-say-you-live-longer-gives-you/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Kill one man and you're a murderer, kill a million and you're a conqueror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/kill-one-man-and-you-re-a-murderer-kill-a-million-and-you-re-a/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/kill-one-man-and-you-are-a-murderer-kill-millions-of-men-and-you-are/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) ## More by Clarence Darrow > [We know life is futile. A man who considers that his life is of very wonderful importance is awfully close to a padded cell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/we-know-life-is-futile-a-man-who-considers-that-his-life-is-of-very/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Great wealth often curses all who touch it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/great-wealth-often-curses-all-who-touch-it/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Punishment as punishment is not admissible unless the offender has had the free will to select his course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/punishment-as-punishment-is-not-admissible-unless-the-offender-has/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [“One of the bravest, grandest champions of human liberty the world has ever seen. {Darrow on the great Robert Ingersoll }”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/one-of-the-bravest-grandest-champions-of-human-liberty-the-world-has/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [I cannot tell and I shall never know how many words of mine might have given birth to cruelty in place of love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/i-cannot-tell-and-i-shall-never-know-how-many-words-of-mine-might/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [“As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs, and if no man objected and if no man rebelled, those wrongs would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/as-long-as-the-world-shall-last-there-will-be-wrongs-and-if-no-man/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/i-have-never-killed-a-man-but-i-have-read-many-obituaries-with-great/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/lost-causes-are-the-only-ones-worth-fighting-for/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [One believes in the truthfulness of a man because of his long experience with the man, and because the man has always told a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/one-believes-in-the-truthfulness-of-a-man-because-of-his-long/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Physical deformity, calls forth our charity. But the infinite misfortune of moral deformity calls forth nothing but hatred and vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/physical-deformity-calls-forth-our-charity-but-the-infinite/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Men have always been obliged to fight to preserve liberty. Constitutions and laws do not safeguard liberty. It can be preserved only by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/men-have-always-been-obliged-to-fight-to-preserve-liberty/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [“ Robert G. Ingersoll was a great man. a wonderful intellect, a great soul of matchless courage, one of the great men of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/robert-g-ingersoll-was-a-great-man-a-wonderful-intellect-a-great-soul/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Everybody is a potential murderer. I've never killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction reading the obituary notices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/everybody-is-a-potential-murderer-i-ve-never-killed-anyone-but-i/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [The first half of our lives are ruined by our parents and the second half by our children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/the-first-half-of-our-lives-are-ruined-by-our-parents-and-the-second/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [If there is a soul, what is it, and where did it come from, and where does it go? 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