--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I refuse to allow my leg to be…" description: "\"If I refuse to allow my leg to be amputated, its mortification and my death may prove that I was wrong; but if I let the leg go, nobody can ever prove ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/george-bernard-shaw-68_death_if-i-refuse-to-allow-my-leg-to-be-amputa_1318224.png" --- # If I refuse to allow my leg to be amputated, its… ![“If I refuse to allow my leg to be amputated, its mortification and my death may prove that I was wrong; but if I let the leg go, nobody can ever prove that it would not have mortified had I been obstinate. Operation is therefore the safe side for the surgeon as well as the lucrative side.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/george-bernard-shaw-68_death_if-i-refuse-to-allow-my-leg-to-be-amputa_1318224.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/george-bernard-shaw-68_death_if-i-refuse-to-allow-my-leg-to-be-amputa_1318224.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/george-bernard-shaw-68_death_if-i-refuse-to-allow-my-leg-to-be-amputa_1318224.png) > “If I refuse to allow my leg to be amputated, its mortification and my death may prove that I was wrong; but if I let the leg go, nobody can ever prove that it would not have mortified had I been obstinate. Operation is therefore the safe side for the surgeon as well as the lucrative side.” [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. Choosing a risky, painful option can seem safer than risking unknown future harm, especially when financial gain is involved. **In simple terms:** Risky choices may look safer when profit is at stake. Key Takeaway Weigh long‑term health over short‑term profit. Themes ethics medicine risk profit decisionmaking Mood cautious critical reflective Type ethical philosophical advisory When to use this quote - medical surgery - business negotiations - personal health decisions - policy making Key Concepts utilitarianism moral hazard cost‑benefit analysis Questions to Reflect On - Is the surgeon’s profit influencing the recommendation? - How can patients ensure unbiased medical advice? A Different Perspective Profit motives can bias medical recommendations, compromising patient welfare. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Mortification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortification/) [Surgeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surgeons/) ## Related quotes > [So someday in the near future hopefully rather than having a foot or a leg amputated we'll just give you an injection of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lanza/so-someday-in-the-near-future-hopefully-rather-than-having-a-foot-or/) [Robert Lanza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lanza/) > [I was very close to having my whole leg amputated. It was a life-altering event. It took years of rehab.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-williams/i-was-very-close-to-having-my-whole-leg-amputated-it-was-a-life/) [Jay Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-williams/) > [If a man gets drunk and goes out and breaks his leg so that it must be amputated, God will forgive him if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/if-a-man-gets-drunk-and-goes-out-and-breaks-his-leg-so-that-it-must/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) > [I once treated a 24-year-old construction worker who had scraped his leg but could not afford to take off work. By the time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leana-s-wen/i-once-treated-a-24-year-old-construction-worker-who-had-scraped-his/) [Leana S. Wen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leana-s-wen/) > [My left leg had to be amputated from below the knee immediately to prevent gangrene from setting in. I was losing blood alarmingly. Here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arunima-sinha/my-left-leg-had-to-be-amputated-from-below-the-knee-immediately-to/) [Arunima Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arunima-sinha/) > [Janie’s hip buzzes again. Maybe she'll have to have her whole leg amputated, she thinks sadly. That would really suck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-mcmann/janie-s-hip-buzzes-again-maybe-she-ll-have-to-have-her-whole-leg/) [Lisa McMann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-mcmann/) > [I almost had to have my leg amputated because of an infection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-dale/i-almost-had-to-have-my-leg-amputated-because-of-an-infection/) [Dick Dale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-dale/) > [“It’s like you’ve been in a terrible accident and had your arm amputated,” she told him. “After a while, the pain goes away, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-standiford/it-s-like-you-ve-been-in-a-terrible-accident-and-had-your-arm/) [Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) > [“of course the edges of the wound struggle to close up and the clock wants to be set going (how awkward to be pointing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katarina-mazetti/of-course-the-edges-of-the-wound-struggle-to-close-up-and-the-clock/) Katarina Mazetti > [I would consent to have a limb amputated to recover my spirits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-would-consent-to-have-a-limb-amputated-to-recover-my-spirits/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Everybody's amputated in some way or another, Shiloh. We lose loved ones, cut off memories forever, end relationships. Go down paths we can't return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rogers-spinola/everybody-s-amputated-in-some-way-or-another-shiloh-we-lose-loved/) Jennifer Rogers Spinola > [ \[I'll teach you\] how not to leave the windows of your heart open when it looks like rain and how everyone has a stump… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-toltz/i-ll-teach-you-how-not-to-leave-the-windows-of-your-heart-open-when/) [Steve Toltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-toltz/) > [Sadly, I am not able to take part in the fieldwork myself so much anymore, as both of my legs were amputated following an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/sadly-i-am-not-able-to-take-part-in-the-fieldwork-myself-so-much/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [“He pictures amputated human arms flopping like fish down the center of the road; syringes floating on beds of liposuctioned fat; gelatinous human eyeballs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-pictures-amputated-human-arms-flopping-like-fish-down-the-center/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“When giving money to the amputated, you must put it directly into their pockets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-campbell/when-giving-money-to-the-amputated-you-must-put-it-directly-into/) [Greg Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-campbell/) ## 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 Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I refuse to allow my leg to be amputated, its mortification and my death may prove that I was wrong; but if I let the leg go, nobody can ever prove that it would not have mortified had I been obstinate. Operation is therefore the safe side for the surgeon as well as the lucrative side.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-i-refuse-to-allow-my-leg-to-be-amputated-its-mortification-and-my/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-i-refuse-to-allow-my-leg-to-be-amputated-its-mortification-and-my/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/george-bernard-shaw-68_death_if-i-refuse-to-allow-my-leg-to-be-amputa_1318224.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/george-bernard-shaw-68_death_if-i-refuse-to-allow-my-leg-to-be-amputa_1318224.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/george-bernard-shaw-68_death_if-i-refuse-to-allow-my-leg-to-be-amputa_1318224.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I refuse to allow my leg to be amputated, its mortification and my death may prove that I was wrong; but…” — 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": "If I refuse to allow my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-i-refuse-to-allow-my-leg-to-be-amputated-its-mortification-and-my/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-i-refuse-to-allow-my-leg-to-be-amputated-its-mortification-and-my/#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 } } ] } ```