--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Assassination on the scaffold is the…" description: "\"Assassination on the scaffold is the worst form of assassination.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/george-bernard-shaw-68_assassination_assassination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-wor_1483334.png" --- # Assassination on the scaffold is the worst form of… ![“Assassination on the scaffold is the worst form of assassination.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/george-bernard-shaw-68_assassination_assassination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-wor_1483334.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/george-bernard-shaw-68_assassination_assassination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-wor_1483334.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/george-bernard-shaw-68_assassination_assassination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-wor_1483334.png) > “Assassination on the scaffold is the worst form of assassination.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The most brutal way to kill someone is to execute them publicly, exposing the act to all. **In simple terms:** Public execution is the worst form of killing. Key Takeaway Avoid public cruelty; seek humane justice. Themes justice violence public spectacle Mood somber critical Type ethical political When to use this quote - courtroom - political protest - media coverage - human rights advocacy Key Concepts ethics state power human dignity Questions to Reflect On - Is public punishment ever justified? - How does spectacle affect societal values? A Different Perspective Public executions can incite further violence and trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assassination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination/) [Assassination Scaffold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination-scaffold-5410801/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Form Assassination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form-assassination-5410802/) [Scaffold Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scaffold-worst-5171316/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Worst Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-form-744743/) ## Related quotes > [Assasination on the scaffold is the worst form of assasination, because there it is invested with the approval of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/assasination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-worst-form-of-assasination/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Poverty is the worst form of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-ibn-abi-talib/poverty-is-the-worst-form-of-death/) [Ali ibn Abi Talib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-ibn-abi-talib/) > [“The ultimate form of censorship is assassination. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-ultimate-form-of-censorship-is-assassination/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Assassination is the extreme form of censorship; and it seems hard to justify an incitement to it on anti-censorial principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/assassination-is-the-extreme-form-of-censorship-and-it-seems-hard-to/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/assassination-is-the-extreme-form-of-censorship/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Poqerty is the worst form of violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/poqerty-is-the-worst-form-of-violence/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Fame is a form, perhaps the worst form, of incomprehension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/fame-is-a-form-perhaps-the-worst-form-of-incomprehension/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“Democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/democracy-is-the-worst-form-of-government-except-for-all-those-other/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-s-churchill/democracy-is-the-worst-form-of-government-except-for-all-the-others/) [Winston S. Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-s-churchill/) > [Humility is the worst form of conceit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/humility-is-the-worst-form-of-conceit/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [A parade is the worst form of transportation known to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-kelly/a-parade-is-the-worst-form-of-transportation-known-to-man/) [Walt Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-kelly/) > [“They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery... but I say that it is the WORST form of creativity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antwian-marcel-crawford/they-say-that-imitation-is-the-highest-form-of-flattery-but-i-say/) [Antwian Marcel Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antwian-marcel-crawford/) > [The worst form of suffering is not knowing what you've done, but not knowing who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-worst-form-of-suffering-is-not-knowing-what-you-ve-done-but-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Reality TV was to me the worst form of entertainment--the modern equivalent of paying sixpence to watch lunatics howling at the wall down at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/reality-tv-was-to-me-the-worst-form-of-entertainment-the-modern/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“To be defined by another is the worst form of abuse”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-ferreiro-esteban/to-be-defined-by-another-is-the-worst-form-of-abuse/) [Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-ferreiro-esteban/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Assassination quotes > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ We have the ability to take him \[President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez\] out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/we-have-the-ability-to-take-him-president-of-venezuela-hugo-chavez/) [Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/) > [“Assassination is murder with a touch more precision. Brother Sim is precise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/assassination-is-murder-with-a-touch-more-precision-brother-sim-is/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [In modern day academia, secretly assassinating your peers is not necessarily performed the same way it was in king Tarquins day. The growth in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-spacey/in-modern-day-academia-secretly-assassinating-your-peers-is-not/) [Simon Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-spacey/) > [The Romans have provided a lot of writers with a model for various interstellar empires, of course, and no wonder. The Roman Empire is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-romans-have-provided-a-lot-of-writers-with-a-model-for-various/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [We know from Talmadge Hayer, one of the men who carried out the assassination, who was shot by Ruben X as he tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manning-marable/we-know-from-talmadge-hayer-one-of-the-men-who-carried-out-the/) [Manning Marable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manning-marable/) > [Assassination's the fastest way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/assassination-s-the-fastest-way/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“He also had a condition that was referred to as granulated eyelids and it caused him to blink more than usual, as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-hansen/he-also-had-a-condition-that-was-referred-to-as-granulated-eyelids/) [Ron Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-hansen/) > [“Hundreds of political assassinations related to minority races, labor leaders and spokesmen against fascism have taken place in the U.S. since World War II.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-brussell/hundreds-of-political-assassinations-related-to-minority-races-labor/) [Mae Brussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-brussell/) > [However, after the assassination of Salman Taseer, the killer of Salman Taseer was welcomed by the religious fanatics. And they showered rose petals on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahbaz-bhatti/however-after-the-assassination-of-salman-taseer-the-killer-of-salman/) [Shahbaz Bhatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahbaz-bhatti/) > [There is not a single celebrated Southern name in any of the departments of human industry except those of war, assassination, lynching, murder, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-not-a-single-celebrated-southern-name-in-any-of-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I think that the implication of King's assassination has not been fully appreciated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-louis-gates/i-think-that-the-implication-of-king-s-assassination-has-not-been/) [Henry Louis Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-louis-gates/) > [The Senate has been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-chase-smith/the-senate-has-been-debased-to-the-level-of-a-forum-of-hate-and/) [Margaret Chase Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-chase-smith/) > [A deep, black grief gripped Robert Kennedy in the months following his brother's assassination. He lost weight, fell into melancholy silences, wore his brother's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurston-clarke/a-deep-black-grief-gripped-robert-kennedy-in-the-months-following-his/) [Thurston Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurston-clarke/) [Browse all 264 Assassination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assassination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Assassination on the scaffold is the worst form of assassination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/assassination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-worst-form-of-assassination/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assassination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/assassination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-worst-form-of-assassination/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/george-bernard-shaw-68_assassination_assassination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-wor_1483334.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/george-bernard-shaw-68_assassination_assassination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-wor_1483334.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e54/george-bernard-shaw-68_assassination_assassination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-wor_1483334.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Assassination on the scaffold is the worst form of assassination.” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Assassination on the scaffold is the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/assassination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-worst-form-of-assassination/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/assassination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-worst-form-of-assassination/#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 } } ] } ```