--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In revenge a man is but even with his…" description: "\"In revenge a man is but even with his enemy; for it is a princely thing to pardon, and Solomon saith it is the glory of a man to pass over a transgress..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/francis-bacon-297_enemy_in-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-en_377368.jpg" --- # In revenge a man is but even with his enemy; for it is a… ![“In revenge a man is but even with his enemy; for it is a princely thing to pardon, and Solomon saith it is the glory of a man to pass over a transgression.” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/francis-bacon-297_enemy_in-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-en_377368.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/francis-bacon-297_enemy_in-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-en_377368.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/francis-bacon-297_enemy_in-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-en_377368.jpg) > “In revenge a man is but even with his enemy; for it is a princely thing to pardon, and Solomon saith it is the glory of a man to pass over a transgression.” [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True nobility lies in forgiveness, which elevates the forgiver more than vengeance. **In simple terms:** Forgiveness shows greater strength than revenge. Key Takeaway Choose mercy over retaliation. Themes forgiveness humility justice Mood thoughtful serene Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - conflict resolution - family disputes - legal judgments Key Concepts moral philosophy princely conduct ethical leadership Questions to Reflect On - Is forgiveness always possible? - When does justice require punishment? A Different Perspective Forgiveness may be seen as weakness by some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pardon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pardon/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solomon/) [Transgression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transgression/) ## Related quotes > [In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-enemy-but-in-passing-it/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [By taking revenge a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing over it he is superior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-clark/by-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-enemy-but-in-passing/) [Denise Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-clark/) > [Certainly, in taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy, but in passing it over, he is superior; for it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/certainly-in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-enemy-but-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“For the taking of revenge, a man locks himself up alone and thinks. His stomach must be empty for his head to be full.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-forneret/for-the-taking-of-revenge-a-man-locks-himself-up-alone-and-thinks-his/) [Xavier Forneret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-forneret/) > [To work a fell revenge a man's a fool, if not instructed in a woman's school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-william-fletcher/to-work-a-fell-revenge-a-man-s-a-fool-if-not-instructed-in-a-woman-s/) [John William Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-william-fletcher/) > [A good man can never be the enemy of someone; if he did, he ain't a good man!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/a-good-man-can-never-be-the-enemy-of-someone-if-he-did-he-ain-t-a/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“When a man's his own enemy, it's only because he's too much his own friend; not because he's careful for everybody but himself. Pooh!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/when-a-man-s-his-own-enemy-it-s-only-because-he-s-too-much-his-own/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [You must consider every man your enemy who speaks ill of your King, and you must treat every Frenchman as if he were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/you-must-consider-every-man-your-enemy-who-speaks-ill-of-your-king/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [In retrospect, it is evident that the emphasis on 'man as enemy' deflected attention away from focus on improving relationships between women and men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-retrospect-it-is-evident-that-the-emphasis-on-man-as-enemy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Each government accuses the other of perfidy, intrigue and ambition, as a means of heating the imagination of their respective nations, and incensing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/each-government-accuses-the-other-of-perfidy-intrigue-and-ambition-as/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The one thing that I'm always gonna promote is, 'Don't look at a fellow black man as an enemy.' And it's hard. It's really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetrius-shipp-jr/the-one-thing-that-i-m-always-gonna-promote-is-don-t-look-at-a-fellow/) [Demetrius Shipp, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetrius-shipp-jr/) > [Man is not the enemy here, but the fellow victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/man-is-not-the-enemy-here-but-the-fellow-victim/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [What sort of an age is this where a man becomes one's enemy only when his back is turned?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/what-sort-of-an-age-is-this-where-a-man-becomes-one-s-enemy-only-when/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [A man who is an enemy of the bride doesn't speak well of the wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-man-who-is-an-enemy-of-the-bride-doesn-t-speak-well-of-the-wedding/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [I thought that a man can be an enemy of other men, of the moments of other men, but not of a country: not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-thought-that-a-man-can-be-an-enemy-of-other-men-of-the-moments-of/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## More by Francis Bacon > [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-best-preservative-to-keep-the-mind-in-health-is-the-faithful/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-today-is-pure-intuition-and-luck-and-taking-advantage-of/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Much bending breaks the bow; much unbending the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/much-bending-breaks-the-bow-much-unbending-the-mind/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When Christ came into the world, peace was sung; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-christ-came-into-the-world-peace-was-sung-and-when-he-went-out/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [...neither is it possible to discover the more remote and deeper parts of any science, if you stand but upon the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/neither-is-it-possible-to-discover-the-more-remote-and-deeper-parts/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The human understanding, when any preposition has been once laid down... forces everything else to add fresh support and confirmation; and although more cogent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-human-understanding-when-any-preposition-has-been-once-laid-down/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I should have been, I don't know, a con-man, a robber or a prostitute. But it was vanity that made me choose painting, vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-should-have-been-i-don-t-know-a-con-man-a-robber-or-a-prostitute/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Wounds cannot be cured without searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/wounds-cannot-be-cured-without-searching/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-french-are-wiser-than-they-seem-and-the-spaniards-seem-wiser-than/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-a-man-laughs-at-his-troubles-he-loses-a-great-many-friends-they/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Believing that I was born for the service of mankind, and regarding the care of the commonwealth as a kind of common property which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/believing-that-i-was-born-for-the-service-of-mankind-and-regarding/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Explore all 711 Francis Bacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## More Enemy quotes > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Fear is a man's worst enemy, but love is a man's most powerful weapon against anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-a-man-s-worst-enemy-but-love-is-a-man-s-most-powerful-weapon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) A.K. Hasan > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. 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