--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let wife and child perish, and lay bricks…" description: "\"Let wife and child perish, and lay bricks for your last crust, rather than part with an iota of your [copy]rights.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/george-bernard-shaw-68_bricks_let-wife-and-child-perish-and-lay-bricks_473291.png" --- # Let wife and child perish, and lay bricks for your last… ![“Let wife and child perish, and lay bricks for your last crust, rather than part with an iota of your [copy]rights.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/george-bernard-shaw-68_bricks_let-wife-and-child-perish-and-lay-bricks_473291.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/george-bernard-shaw-68_bricks_let-wife-and-child-perish-and-lay-bricks_473291.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/george-bernard-shaw-68_bricks_let-wife-and-child-perish-and-lay-bricks_473291.png) > “Let wife and child perish, and lay bricks for your last crust, rather than part with an iota of your \[copy\]rights.” [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. It is better to sacrifice a small personal loss than to let a larger injustice persist. **In simple terms:** Small sacrifices prevent greater loss. Key Takeaway Choose principle over trivial comforts. Themes principle sacrifice justice Mood provocative serious Type political ethical When to use this quote - political activism - legal battles - personal integrity - civil disobedience Key Concepts ethical dilemma personal rights collective good Questions to Reflect On - What rights are you willing to forfeit for a cause? - Is it ever justified to sacrifice personal liberty? A Different Perspective Giving up a tiny right may not stop larger oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bricks/) [Bricks Crust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bricks-crust-4086911/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Copies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copies/) [Crust Iota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crust-iota-4086912/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Lay Bricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lay-bricks-3866024/) [Lays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lays/) [Let Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-wife-632575/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Perish Lay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perish-lay-4086913/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [You can't lay bricks in the snow or rain. We still use wet plaster on walls which might not dry for a week if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clarke/you-can-t-lay-bricks-in-the-snow-or-rain-we-still-use-wet-plaster-on/) [George Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clarke/) > [“Whether you're beginning with the foundation or you're finishing off the second story...the purposeful way you continue to lay the bricks matters. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waire/whether-you-re-beginning-with-the-foundation-or-you-re-finishing-off/) [John Waire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waire/) > [“Faith. Trust. They don't come naturally, but as we lay those first bricks, we notice that little by little, a foundation is forming. Eventually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/faith-trust-they-don-t-come-naturally-but-as-we-lay-those-first/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [“Genius too does nothing but learn first how to lay bricks then how to build, and continually seek for material and continually form itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/genius-too-does-nothing-but-learn-first-how-to-lay-bricks-then-how-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/let-the-wife-make-the-husband-glad-to-come-home-and-let-him-make-her/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [I work hard to let my wife know how much I love her. I try to do that every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darius-rucker/i-work-hard-to-let-my-wife-know-how-much-i-love-her-i-try-to-do-that/) [Darius Rucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darius-rucker/) > [“Are you hungry?” “I am, though not for food at the moment.” She leaned up on her elbows and crooked a finger at him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-savage/are-you-hungry-i-am-though-not-for-food-at-the-moment-she-leaned-up/) [Vivienne Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-savage/) > [“Let the wife make her husband glad to come home and let him make her sorry to see him leave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/let-the-wife-make-her-husband-glad-to-come-home-and-let-him-make-her/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Let your wife win all the battles, and you'll win the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chi-chi-rodriguez/let-your-wife-win-all-the-battles-and-you-ll-win-the-war/) [Chi Chi Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chi-chi-rodriguez/) > [ I wont let a wife lead me to the altar. \[I will not have a wife that shall be my master.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/i-wont-let-a-wife-lead-me-to-the-altar-i-will-not-have-a-wife-that/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [One night I came home. I figured, let my wife come on. I'll play it cool. Let her make the first move. She went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/one-night-i-came-home-i-figured-let-my-wife-come-on-i-ll-play-it-cool/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [Even if you tried to extinguish your personality, what is left in the story will reflect it, perhaps by its negation. Our lives provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/even-if-you-tried-to-extinguish-your-personality-what-is-left-in-the/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [LEGO is universal. So many people enjoy it, from all different walks of life, all different ages, all different cultures. When I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-sawaya/lego-is-universal-so-many-people-enjoy-it-from-all-different-walks-of/) [Nathan Sawaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-sawaya/) > [That city is well fortified which has a wall of men instead of brick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-city-is-well-fortified-which-has-a-wall-of-men-instead-of-brick/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) ## 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 Bricks quotes > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [That city is well fortified which has a wall of men instead of brick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-city-is-well-fortified-which-has-a-wall-of-men-instead-of-brick/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [LEGO is universal. So many people enjoy it, from all different walks of life, all different ages, all different cultures. When I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-sawaya/lego-is-universal-so-many-people-enjoy-it-from-all-different-walks-of/) [Nathan Sawaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-sawaya/) > [Even if you tried to extinguish your personality, what is left in the story will reflect it, perhaps by its negation. Our lives provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/even-if-you-tried-to-extinguish-your-personality-what-is-left-in-the/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific bigwigs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/i-am-the-enfant-terrible-of-literature-and-science-if-i-cannot-and-i/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [The Brick House was one of the toughest joints I ever played in ... Guys would drink and fight one another like circle saws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-armstrong/the-brick-house-was-one-of-the-toughest-joints-i-ever-played-in-guys/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-armstrong/) > [I am always really buzzed after each performance, and at around one in the morning, Ill hit a brick wall and need to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hattie-morahan/i-am-always-really-buzzed-after-each-performance-and-at-around-one-in/) [Hattie Morahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hattie-morahan/) > [“Savannah gray bricks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-andrews/savannah-gray-bricks/) [Mary Kay Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-andrews/) > [I still have the desire to do the job of acting. It's just a matter of whether I'll be allowed to do the job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-coleman/i-still-have-the-desire-to-do-the-job-of-acting-it-s-just-a-matter-of/) [Gary Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-coleman/) > [Rebuilding a network is a slow, brick-by-brick process. It's not just creating a hit show - it's building shows to back up that hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-moonves/rebuilding-a-network-is-a-slow-brick-by-brick-process-it-s-not-just/) [Leslie Moonves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-moonves/) > [Build your life brick upon brick, Live a life of truth, And you will look back on a life of truth. Live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/build-your-life-brick-upon-brick-live-a-life-of-truth-and-you-will/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) > [You have those walls up all around you...Come a day you gonna want to tear them down brick by brick and gonna find that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/you-have-those-walls-up-all-around-you-come-a-day-you-gonna-want-to/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [“As an employee, you’re not supposed to say the bricks come from modern day Iran or modern day Turkey. No, they come from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-hill-jr/as-an-employee-you-re-not-supposed-to-say-the-bricks-come-from-modern/) [David A. Hill Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-hill-jr/) > [“Two bricks, parallel and horizontal, equals an equal sign. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/two-bricks-parallel-and-horizontal-equals-an-equal-sign/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Didn’t every new thing you did become a part of you, one of your bricks?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/didn-t-every-new-thing-you-did-become-a-part-of-you-one-of-your-bricks/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) [Browse all 587 Bricks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bricks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let wife and child perish, and lay bricks for your last crust, rather than part with an iota of your [copy]rights.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/let-wife-and-child-perish-and-lay-bricks-for-your-last-crust-rather/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bricks" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/let-wife-and-child-perish-and-lay-bricks-for-your-last-crust-rather/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/george-bernard-shaw-68_bricks_let-wife-and-child-perish-and-lay-bricks_473291.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/george-bernard-shaw-68_bricks_let-wife-and-child-perish-and-lay-bricks_473291.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11c/george-bernard-shaw-68_bricks_let-wife-and-child-perish-and-lay-bricks_473291.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let wife and child perish, and lay bricks for your last crust, rather than part with an iota of your…” — 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": "Let wife and child perish, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/let-wife-and-child-perish-and-lay-bricks-for-your-last-crust-rather/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/let-wife-and-child-perish-and-lay-bricks-for-your-last-crust-rather/#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 } } ] } ```