--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A bullet would perhaps be an…" description: "\"“A bullet would perhaps be an unnecessarily severe form of punishment to mete out; but I confess I could excuse the man who was so far carried away by ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbe/grant-allen-37074_bullet_a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessari_2659380.jpg" --- # A bullet would perhaps be an unnecessarily severe form of… ![“A bullet would perhaps be an unnecessarily severe form of punishment to mete out; but I confess I could excuse the man who was so far carried away by his righteous indignation as to duck the fellow in the nearest horse-pond.” quote by Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbe/grant-allen-37074_bullet_a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessari_2659380.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbe/grant-allen-37074_bullet_a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessari_2659380.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbe/grant-allen-37074_bullet_a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessari_2659380.jpg) > ““A bullet would perhaps be an unnecessarily severe form of punishment to mete out; but I confess I could excuse the man who was so far carried away by his righteous indignation as to duck the fellow in the nearest horse-pond.”” [Grant Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man, driven by extreme moral anger, punishes a horse-pond, showing how excess zeal can lead to absurd actions. **In simple terms:** Extreme anger leads to irrational deeds. Key Takeaway Temper righteous anger with reason. Themes justice anger morality excess absurdity Mood critical reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - conflict resolution - personal anger management - legal judgment Key Concepts ethics human behavior psychology Questions to Reflect On - When has your moral conviction led to overreaction? - How can you balance justice with compassion? A Different Perspective Righteous anger can cause disproportionate harm if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punishment/) [Righteous indignation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/righteous-indignation/) ## Related quotes > [The Islamist camp is infused with a righteous indignation, as the forces of old, corrupt and rotten Egypt unite to try and drive them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/the-islamist-camp-is-infused-with-a-righteous-indignation-as-the/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [“Jesus will not accept the common distinction between righteous indignation and unjustifiable anger. 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A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fall-out-boy/i-ll-be-your-number-one-with-a-bullet-a-loaded-god-complex-cock-it/) [Fall Out Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fall-out-boy/) Browse all 493 Bullet quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A bullet would perhaps be an unnecessarily severe form of punishment to mete out; but I confess I could excuse the man who was so far carried away by his righteous indignation as to duck the fellow in the nearest horse-pond.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Grant Allen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessarily-severe-form-of-punishment/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bullet" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessarily-severe-form-of-punishment/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbe/grant-allen-37074_bullet_a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessari_2659380.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbe/grant-allen-37074_bullet_a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessari_2659380.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbe/grant-allen-37074_bullet_a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessari_2659380.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A bullet would perhaps be an unnecessarily severe form of punishment to mete out; but I confess I could…” — Grant Allen", "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": "Grant Allen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-allen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A bullet would perhaps be an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessarily-severe-form-of-punishment/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-allen/a-bullet-would-perhaps-be-an-unnecessarily-severe-form-of-punishment/#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 } } ] } ```