--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In taking revenge, a man is but even with…" description: "\"In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.\" — Francis Bacon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/francis-bacon-297_enemy_in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with_1513083.jpg" --- # In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but… ![“In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/francis-bacon-297_enemy_in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with_1513083.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/francis-bacon-297_enemy_in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with_1513083.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/francis-bacon-297_enemy_in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with_1513083.jpg) > “In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.” [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. Choosing forgiveness over revenge shows moral superiority and personal growth. **In simple terms:** Forgiving is better than revenge. Key Takeaway Forgive to rise above conflict. Themes ethics self‑control conflict resolution Mood reflective calm Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal disputes - legal judgments - family feuds - workplace disagreements Key Concepts Stoicism moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What does true superiority look like to you? - Can forgiveness change power dynamics? A Different Perspective Forgiveness may be seen as weakness in some cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [Taking revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-revenge/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [In revenge a man is but even with his enemy; for it is a princely thing to pardon, and Solomon saith it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/in-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-enemy-for-it-is-a-princely/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [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/) > [“If there is a God, he must be taking revenge on me for the things I've done. I'll live in a perpetual hell with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-warner/if-there-is-a-god-he-must-be-taking-revenge-on-me-for-the-things-i-ve/) Edith Warner > [I know forgiveness is a man's duty, but, to my thinking, that can only mean as you're to give up all thoughts o' taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-know-forgiveness-is-a-man-s-duty-but-to-my-thinking-that-can-only/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The weapon of suicide bombing is so desperate that you aren't even left with the possibility of taking revenge or punishing anyone; the terrorist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-yehoshua/the-weapon-of-suicide-bombing-is-so-desperate-that-you-aren-t-even/) [A. B. Yehoshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-yehoshua/) > [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/) > [“Gradually this truth is beginning to dawn on the political class, so that even socialists have come to accept that the poor are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/gradually-this-truth-is-beginning-to-dawn-on-the-political-class-so/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [I really wanted to get out of that cycle in our family where somebody's taking revenge on somebody for some slight that happened thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-roth/i-really-wanted-to-get-out-of-that-cycle-in-our-family-where-somebody/) [Marco Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-roth/) > [In taking revenge upon our enemies, we are only even with them; in passing over their malice we are superior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-lennox/in-taking-revenge-upon-our-enemies-we-are-only-even-with-them-in/) [Charlotte Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-lennox/) > [The terrorists want civil war. Al-Qaida is attacking Shiites. The Shiite militias are taking revenge on the Sunnis. And the Sunnis are become more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zalmay-khalilzad/the-terrorists-want-civil-war-al-qaida-is-attacking-shiites-the/) [Zalmay Khalilzad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zalmay-khalilzad/) > [Why should DMK align with Congress after blaming the Congress of taking revenge on it for the 2G scam, which caused the exchequer a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-jayalalithaa/why-should-dmk-align-with-congress-after-blaming-the-congress-of/) [J. Jayalalithaa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-jayalalithaa/) > [Revenge is the thinking man's reflex, a complex blend of action and consistency no other animal species has so far succeeded in evolving. Evolutionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesbo/revenge-is-the-thinking-man-s-reflex-a-complex-blend-of-action-and/) [Jo Nesbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesbo/) > [Forgiveness is better than revenge, for forgiveness is the sign of a gentle nature, but revenge is the sign of a savage nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-isaac-friedman/forgiveness-is-better-than-revenge-for-forgiveness-is-the-sign-of-a/) [Jerome Isaac Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-isaac-friedman/) ## 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. Everything else is rubbish!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/in-this-business-you-find-the-enemy-then-go-after-and-destroy-him/) [Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) [Browse all 7,981 Enemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Bacon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-enemy-but-in-passing-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-enemy-but-in-passing-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/francis-bacon-297_enemy_in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with_1513083.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/francis-bacon-297_enemy_in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with_1513083.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/francis-bacon-297_enemy_in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with_1513083.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.” — Francis Bacon", "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": "Francis Bacon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In taking revenge, a man is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-enemy-but-in-passing-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/in-taking-revenge-a-man-is-but-even-with-his-enemy-but-in-passing-it/#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 } } ] } ```