--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The people who burned witches at the…" description: "\"“The people who burned witches at the stake never for one moment thought of their act as violence; rather they thought of it as an act of divinely mand..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c4/gil-bailie-54882_justice_the-people-who-burned-witches-at-the-sta_1167019.jpg" --- # The people who burned witches at the stake never for one… ![“The people who burned witches at the stake never for one moment thought of their act as violence; rather they thought of it as an act of divinely mandated righteousness. The same can be said of most of the violence humans have ever committed.” quote by Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c4/gil-bailie-54882_justice_the-people-who-burned-witches-at-the-sta_1167019.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c4/gil-bailie-54882_justice_the-people-who-burned-witches-at-the-sta_1167019.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c4/gil-bailie-54882_justice_the-people-who-burned-witches-at-the-sta_1167019.jpg) > ““The people who burned witches at the stake never for one moment thought of their act as violence; rather they thought of it as an act of divinely mandated righteousness. The same can be said of most of the violence humans have ever committed.”” [Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical witch‑burners saw their violence as divinely justified; similarly, many human atrocities are framed as righteous. **In simple terms:** Violence often justified by perceived righteousness. Key Takeaway Question moral justifications of violence. Themes history morality violence justification Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - education - political discourse - human rights advocacy - media critique Key Concepts ethical relativism historical analysis Questions to Reflect On - How do societies rationalize violence? - What can counteract divine‑mandated narratives? A Different Perspective Not all violence is rationalized; some is senseless. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burned Witches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burned-witches-3366472/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Righteousness Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/righteousness-said-1484747/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Violence Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-humans-1717281/) [Violence Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-thought-1316008/) [Witch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witch/) [Witches Stake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witches-stake-3366473/) ## Related quotes > [We like to think we're superior to the people who, centuries ago, burned 'witches' for no better reason than a neighbor's belief that his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stossel/we-like-to-think-we-re-superior-to-the-people-who-centuries-ago/) [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) > [“Yet what moved Our Blessed Lord to invective was not badness but just such self-righteousness as this…He said that the harlots and the Quislings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/yet-what-moved-our-blessed-lord-to-invective-was-not-badness-but-just/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Many people implicitly believe in the Hydraulic Theory of Violence: that humans harbor an inner drive toward aggression (a death instinct or thirst for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/many-people-implicitly-believe-in-the-hydraulic-theory-of-violence/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Cruelty to animals can become violence to humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-macgraw/cruelty-to-animals-can-become-violence-to-humans/) [Ali MacGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-macgraw/) > [Terrorism: deadly violence against humans and other living things, usually conducted by government against its own people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/terrorism-deadly-violence-against-humans-and-other-living-things/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“By saying that human issues are more important than non-human issues, that violence to humans is more relevant than violence to animals, one forgets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mango-wodzak/by-saying-that-human-issues-are-more-important-than-non-human-issues/) [Mango Wodzak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mango-wodzak/) > [By far the greater part of violence that humans inflicted on each other is not the work of criminals or mentally deranged, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/by-far-the-greater-part-of-violence-that-humans-inflicted-on-each/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [If I die a violent death, as some fear and a few are plotting, I know that the violence will be in the thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/if-i-die-a-violent-death-as-some-fear-and-a-few-are-plotting-i-know/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [The votaries of nonviolence cannot harbour violence even in thought, let alone the question of doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-votaries-of-nonviolence-cannot-harbour-violence-even-in-thought/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A little bit of gratuitous violence in a well-thought-out story is fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-wise/a-little-bit-of-gratuitous-violence-in-a-well-thought-out-story-is/) [Ray Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-wise/) > [A dissolute character is more dissolute in thought than in deed. And the same is true of violence. Our violence in word and deed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-dissolute-character-is-more-dissolute-in-thought-than-in-deed-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I knew I wanted to write on religious themes when I was a GI in World War II. I saw and experienced so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-knew-i-wanted-to-write-on-religious-themes-when-i-was-a-gi-in-world/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [“There are very subtle shades of violence, I can assure you. 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We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More by Gil Bailie > [“Humans, in short, desire something both unknown to them and inaccessible to the strategies of acquisition that desire sets in motion. We are creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/humans-in-short-desire-something-both-unknown-to-them-and/) [Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) > [“In sharp contrast to their pagan contemporaries, Israel’s remembrance of the past was marked by two tendencies: a faith in Yahweh’s fidelity to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/in-sharp-contrast-to-their-pagan-contemporaries-israel-s-remembrance/) [Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) > [“The very word, religio—to bind (ligio) back (re)—suggests exactly this. 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