--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having…" description: "\"I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/george-bernard-shaw-68_dynamite_i-can-forgive-alfred-nobel-for-having-in_2721130.png" --- # I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite… ![“I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/george-bernard-shaw-68_dynamite_i-can-forgive-alfred-nobel-for-having-in_2721130.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/george-bernard-shaw-68_dynamite_i-can-forgive-alfred-nobel-for-having-in_2721130.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/george-bernard-shaw-68_dynamite_i-can-forgive-alfred-nobel-for-having-in_2721130.png) > “I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize.” [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. Shaw critiques the paradox of rewarding a destructive invention with a prestigious prize, highlighting moral contradictions in honoring harmful achievements. **In simple terms:** Rewarding harmful inventions is contradictory. Key Takeaway Question the ethics of honors. Themes ethics paradox science recognition responsibility Mood ironic critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - academic awards - scientific honors - public policy - education - media commentary Key Concepts moral philosophy social critique legacy Questions to Reflect On - Should we separate invention from impact? - Can a prize be reformed? A Different Perspective The prize also spurred beneficial uses of explosives, complicating the moral judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Forgiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiving/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel/) [Nobel prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel-prize/) [Prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prize/) ## Related quotes > [I find it easy to forgive the man who invented a devilish instrument like dynamite, but how can one ever forgive the diabolical mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-find-it-easy-to-forgive-the-man-who-invented-a-devilish-instrument/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Alfred Nobel regretted that his invention, dynamite, was converted to degrading use, hence his creation of the Nobel Prize, as the humanist counter to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/alfred-nobel-regretted-that-his-invention-dynamite-was-converted-to/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [You are all fundamentalists with a top dressing of science. That is why you are the stupidest of conservatives and reactionists in politics and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-all-fundamentalists-with-a-top-dressing-of-science-that-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As murderous industrial magnates go, Alfred Nobel is right up there with Ray Kroc, franchiser of McDonald's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/as-murderous-industrial-magnates-go-alfred-nobel-is-right-up-there/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Alfred Nobel was much concerned, as are we all, with the tangible benefits we hope for and expect from physiological and medical research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haldan-keffer-hartline/alfred-nobel-was-much-concerned-as-are-we-all-with-the-tangible/) [Haldan Keffer Hartline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haldan-keffer-hartline/) > [“There is a story about Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. One day his older brother died, and a newspaper got the story wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-a-lew/there-is-a-story-about-alfred-nobel-the-inventor-of-dynamite-one-day/) [Alan A. Lew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-a-lew/) > [Written in 1895, Alfred Nobel's will endowed prizes for scientific research in chemistry, physics, and medicine. At that time, these fields were narrowly defined,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-agre/written-in-1895-alfred-nobel-s-will-endowed-prizes-for-scientific/) [Peter Agre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-agre/) > [When I was young my Father used to tell me that the two most worthwhile pursuits in life were the pursuit of truth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sanger/when-i-was-young-my-father-used-to-tell-me-that-the-two-most/) [Frederick Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sanger/) > [I share Alfred Nobel's conviction that war is the greatest of all human disasters. Infectious disease runs a good second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-c-doherty/i-share-alfred-nobel-s-conviction-that-war-is-the-greatest-of-all/) [Peter C. Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-c-doherty/) > [Alfred Nobel - pitiable half-creature, should have been stifled by humane doctor when he made his entry yelling into life. Greatest merits: Keeps his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nobel/alfred-nobel-pitiable-half-creature-should-have-been-stifled-by/) [Alfred Nobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nobel/) > [It is a wonderful and unexpected honor to receive the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Receiving this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-spence/it-is-a-wonderful-and-unexpected-honor-to-receive-the-bank-of-sweden/) [Michael Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-spence/) > [“Thoughts thoughts. Are they not mine? I think, I write, I type. Thoughts. Are they wise? Let truth be told in words, compiled together,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-stewart/thoughts-thoughts-are-they-not-mine-i-think-i-write-i-type-thoughts/) [Edna Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-stewart/) > [Martin Buber suggested that evil prevailed because of the inability of man to imagine the real. Yet human beings do have that capacity. Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lown/martin-buber-suggested-that-evil-prevailed-because-of-the-inability/) [Bernard Lown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lown/) > [Alfred Nobel stipulated that no distinction of race or colour will determine who received of his generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdus-salam/alfred-nobel-stipulated-that-no-distinction-of-race-or-colour-will/) [Abdus Salam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdus-salam/) > [Alfred Nobel believed that social changes are brought about slowly, and sometimes by indirect means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertha-von-suttner/alfred-nobel-believed-that-social-changes-are-brought-about-slowly/) [Bertha von Suttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertha-von-suttner/) ## 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 Dynamite quotes > [Print neatly. That's the kind of advice that the IRS considers a "dynamite" tax tip. If you ask them a real tax question, such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/print-neatly-that-s-the-kind-of-advice-that-the-irs-considers-a/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [I seriously think I could have sat in the middle of the kitchen floor rubbing two sticks together over a pile of dynamite blocks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-sonnenblick/i-seriously-think-i-could-have-sat-in-the-middle-of-the-kitchen-floor/) [Jordan Sonnenblick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-sonnenblick/) > [Evolution cannot be brought about by the use of dynamite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-parlby/evolution-cannot-be-brought-about-by-the-use-of-dynamite/) Irene Parlby > [Take a young man from Gaza living in the most horrendous conditions - most of it imposed by Israel - who straps dynamite around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/take-a-young-man-from-gaza-living-in-the-most-horrendous-conditions/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [If you are talking about terrorism, you need to sit down and understand what is making these people put dynamite around their waists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lakhdar-brahimi/if-you-are-talking-about-terrorism-you-need-to-sit-down-and/) [Lakhdar Brahimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lakhdar-brahimi/) > [Because mothers make us, because they map our emotional terrain before we even know we are capable of having an emotional terrain, they know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-walker/because-mothers-make-us-because-they-map-our-emotional-terrain-before/) [Rebecca Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-walker/) > [Commercialism is the blemish on the fair face of American life. Fighting against the terrible conditions of the explorer and pioneer, our forefathers had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-foote-macdougall/commercialism-is-the-blemish-on-the-fair-face-of-american-life/) [Alice Foote MacDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-foote-macdougall/) > [Babies in silk hats playing with dynamite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-woollcott/babies-in-silk-hats-playing-with-dynamite/) [Alexander Woollcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-woollcott/) > [People are like sticks of dynamite. The power is on the inside, but nothing happens until the fuse gets lit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-anderson/people-are-like-sticks-of-dynamite-the-power-is-on-the-inside-but/) [Mac Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-anderson/) > [Our planning system was dynamite when we first put it in. The thinking was fresh; the form mattered little. It was idea oriented. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-welch/our-planning-system-was-dynamite-when-we-first-put-it-in-the-thinking/) [John Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-welch/) > [My family has always called me 'Lay Lay,' and my dad used to always call me 'Dynamite Termite' because I was really short and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lacey-chabert/my-family-has-always-called-me-lay-lay-and-my-dad-used-to-always-call/) [Lacey Chabert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lacey-chabert/) > [As was the case for Nobel's own invention of dynamite, the uses that are made of increased knowledge can serve both beneficial and potentially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaas-bloembergen/as-was-the-case-for-nobel-s-own-invention-of-dynamite-the-uses-that/) [Nicolaas Bloembergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaas-bloembergen/) > [She's no flibberti-gibberti mamzell, but a whir-stir-get-lost-sir bundla dynamite!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/she-s-no-flibberti-gibberti-mamzell-but-a-whir-stir-get-lost-sir/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Because time does the job, dynamite can't touch. 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All writers have concealed more than they revealed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/one-handles-truths-like-dynamite-literature-is-one-vast-hypocrisy-a/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) Browse all 161 Dynamite quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-can-forgive-alfred-nobel-for-having-invented-dynamite-but-only-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dynamite" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-can-forgive-alfred-nobel-for-having-invented-dynamite-but-only-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/george-bernard-shaw-68_dynamite_i-can-forgive-alfred-nobel-for-having-in_2721130.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/george-bernard-shaw-68_dynamite_i-can-forgive-alfred-nobel-for-having-in_2721130.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/george-bernard-shaw-68_dynamite_i-can-forgive-alfred-nobel-for-having-in_2721130.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented…” — 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": "I can forgive Alfred Nobel for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-can-forgive-alfred-nobel-for-having-invented-dynamite-but-only-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-can-forgive-alfred-nobel-for-having-invented-dynamite-but-only-a/#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 } } ] } ```