--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In prison we are their jailers On trial…" description: "\"In prison we are their jailers On trial their judges Persecuted their punishers Dead their conquerors\" — Eoin MacNeill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eoin-macneill-236122_conqueror_in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial_1117632.png" --- # In prison we are their jailers On trial their judges… ![“In prison we are their jailers On trial their judges Persecuted their punishers Dead their conquerors” quote by Eoin MacNeill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eoin-macneill-236122_conqueror_in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial_1117632.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eoin-macneill-236122_conqueror_in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial_1117632.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eoin-macneill-236122_conqueror_in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial_1117632.png) > “In prison we are their jailers On trial their judges Persecuted their punishers Dead their conquerors” Eoin MacNeill ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes a reversal where prisoners become jailers and judges become judged. **In simple terms:** Roles reverse power prisoners judge and judges are punished. Key Takeaway Reflect on power dynamics and justice. Themes justice power role reversal history Mood critical thought‑provoking Type Conqueror:0 Crime:1 History:1 Jailer:1 Judging:1 Persecuted:1 Prison:1 Punisher:1 Trials:1 Jailers:1 Judges Persecuted:1 Persecuted Punishers:1 Jailers Trial:1 Prison Jailers:1 When to use this quote - legal reform - social activism - personal reflection Key Concepts social critique philosophical irony Questions to Reflect On - How do power structures affect fairness? - What examples show role reversals in society? A Different Perspective Complex metaphors may obscure clear meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conqueror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conqueror/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Punisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punisher/) [Trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trials/) ## Related quotes > [I never fully understood it till my friend Professor Tolkien asked me the very simple question, 'What class of men would you expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-never-fully-understood-it-till-my-friend-professor-tolkien-asked-me/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“quiet, unprovocative, unfailingly polite to one another and to them, and whose occasional sadness bore the stamp of a dignity their jailers could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rappaport/quiet-unprovocative-unfailingly-polite-to-one-another-and-to-them-and/) [Helen Rappaport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rappaport/) > [“We buy our chains from our jailers and only when we put need before desire will we escape the prison of neo-liberalism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/we-buy-our-chains-from-our-jailers-and-only-when-we-put-need-before/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“...those who are locked up know better than their jailers the taste of free air.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/those-who-are-locked-up-know-better-than-their-jailers-the-taste-of/) [Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [“Hence the uneasiness which they arouse in those who, for whatever reason, wish to keep us wholly imprisoned in the immediate conflict. That perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/hence-the-uneasiness-which-they-arouse-in-those-who-for-whatever/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“I got out late winter. I was off on the exact day by thirty-some hours, which is not bad calculations. I made the decision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/i-got-out-late-winter-i-was-off-on-the-exact-day-by-thirty-some-hours/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [The only people who hate escapism are jailers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-only-people-who-hate-escapism-are-jailers/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Do not help your jailers to pretend that their jail is your natural state of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/do-not-help-your-jailers-to-pretend-that-their-jail-is-your-natural/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“Many novelists fumed at men they saw as jailers. A host of masculine villains paraded through their plots—neglectful fathers, cruel husbands, and assorted gamblers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/many-novelists-fumed-at-men-they-saw-as-jailers-a-host-of-masculine/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [Beware of those who seek to take care of you lest your caretakers become your jailers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/beware-of-those-who-seek-to-take-care-of-you-lest-your-caretakers/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“Like the hostages, I can’t find any excuses for my jailers, even if some of them are rootless exiles. They change continuously as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanan-al-shaykh/like-the-hostages-i-can-t-find-any-excuses-for-my-jailers-even-if/) [Hanan Al-Shaykh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanan-al-shaykh/) > [I've always loved comic books, which is why I've done films like Hulk and The Punishers,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-anne-hurd/i-ve-always-loved-comic-books-which-is-why-i-ve-done-films-like-hulk/) [Gale Anne Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-anne-hurd/) > [Everyone outside the Roman Empire was called a barbarian. Everyone outside Obama’s empire is called a terrorist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/everyone-outside-the-roman-empire-was-called-a-barbarian-everyone/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [Are you angry? Be angry at your sins, beat your soul, afflict your conscience, but strict in judgement and a terrible punisher of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/are-you-angry-be-angry-at-your-sins-beat-your-soul-afflict-your/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [I love peace, and am anxious that we should give the world still another useful lesson, by showing to them other modes of punishing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-love-peace-and-am-anxious-that-we-should-give-the-world-still/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## More Conqueror quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [How you see yourself is IMPORTANT... We would do well to see ourselves as God sees us More than a conqueror !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marv-stark/how-you-see-yourself-is-important-we-would-do-well-to-see-ourselves/) [Marv Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marv-stark/) > [Oh while I live, to be the ruler of life, not a slave, to meet life as a powerful conqueror, and nothing exterior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/oh-while-i-live-to-be-the-ruler-of-life-not-a-slave-to-meet-life-as-a/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [Faith is always at a disadvantage; it is a perpetually defeated thing which survives all conquerors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/faith-is-always-at-a-disadvantage-it-is-a-perpetually-defeated-thing/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-most-foolish-mistake-we-could-possibly-make-would-be-to-permit/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Yet only the atrocities of the conquered are referred to as criminal acts; those of the conqueror are justified as necessary, heroic, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/yet-only-the-atrocities-of-the-conquered-are-referred-to-as-criminal/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/he-came-not-as-a-flash-of-light-or-as-an-unapproachable-conqueror-but/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“Napoleon the greatest of the conquerors, is a sufficient proof that great men of action are criminals, and, therefore not geniuses. One can understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/napoleon-the-greatest-of-the-conquerors-is-a-sufficient-proof-that/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [If all the barbarian conquerors had been annihilated in the same hour, their total destruction would not have restored the empire of the West:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/if-all-the-barbarian-conquerors-had-been-annihilated-in-the-same-hour/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“You see, that's the thing with conquerors, they cannot stop conquering, for then they would have to start ruling, and my guess is Jarasandh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gourav-mohanty/you-see-that-s-the-thing-with-conquerors-they-cannot-stop-conquering/) Gourav Mohanty > [As he walks away on his own two feet--the toddler's body-mind has reached its moment of perfection. The world is his and he the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/as-he-walks-away-on-his-own-two-feet-the-toddler-s-body-mind-has/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force--nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/they-were-conquerors-and-for-that-you-want-only-brute-force-nothing/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [This England never did, nor never shall, Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror, But when it first did help to wound itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-england-never-did-nor-never-shall-lie-at-the-proud-foot-of-a/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 269 Conqueror quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conqueror/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In prison we are their jailers On trial their judges Persecuted their punishers Dead their conquerors", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eoin MacNeill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macneill/in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial-their-judges-persecuted-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conqueror" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macneill/in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial-their-judges-persecuted-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eoin-macneill-236122_conqueror_in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial_1117632.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eoin-macneill-236122_conqueror_in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial_1117632.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/eoin-macneill-236122_conqueror_in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial_1117632.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In prison we are their jailers On trial their judges Persecuted their punishers Dead their conquerors” — Eoin MacNeill", "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": "Eoin MacNeill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-macneill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In prison we are their jailers...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macneill/in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial-their-judges-persecuted-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macneill/in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial-their-judges-persecuted-their/#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 } } ] } ```