--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What shall light us to murder & defile if…" description: "\"“What shall light us to murder & defile if by some chance the Laws of the State happen to get turned off?”\" — Kenneth Patchen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/kenneth-patchen-10815_imperialism_what-shall-light-us-to-murder-defile-if_288428.png" --- # What shall light us to murder & defile if by some chance… ![“What shall light us to murder & defile if by some chance the Laws of the State happen to get turned off?” quote by Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/kenneth-patchen-10815_imperialism_what-shall-light-us-to-murder-defile-if_288428.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/kenneth-patchen-10815_imperialism_what-shall-light-us-to-murder-defile-if_288428.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/kenneth-patchen-10815_imperialism_what-shall-light-us-to-murder-defile-if_288428.png) > ““What shall light us to murder & defile if by some chance the Laws of the State happen to get turned off?”” [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When laws collapse, chaos may tempt immoral acts, but moral guidance should not depend solely on legal enforcement. **In simple terms:** Morality shouldn't rely only on laws. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner ethics. Themes law morality anarchy justice Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political upheaval - legal loopholes - war zones Key Concepts ethical autonomy social contract civil obedience Questions to Reflect On - What guides your actions when no rules exist? - Can personal conscience replace law? A Different Perspective Legal systems can sometimes protect against harmful impulses. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imperialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperialism/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws/) [Warfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warfare/) ## Related quotes > [Being silent and doing nothing is never the right answer. What happens in one state can happen in another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson/being-silent-and-doing-nothing-is-never-the-right-answer-what-happens/) [Alan Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson/) > [We understand that athletes aren't necessarily role models, but we at least expect them to abide by the basic laws of the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-pawlenty/we-understand-that-athletes-aren-t-necessarily-role-models-but-we-at/) [Tim Pawlenty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-pawlenty/) > [Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/some-laws-of-state-aimed-at-curbing-crime-are-even-more-criminal/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [The laws of a state change with the changing times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-laws-of-a-state-change-with-the-changing-times/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [But how is it now? All we get is orders; and the laws go out of the state. Them legislators set up there at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-how-is-it-now-all-we-get-is-orders-and-the-laws-go-out-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/if-you-pour-yourself-out-for-the-hungry-and-satisfy-the-desire-of-the/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“In lumine Tuo videbimus lumen, in Thy light we shall see the light”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/columbia-university/in-lumine-tuo-videbimus-lumen-in-thy-light-we-shall-see-the-light/) Columbia University > [“Until you press the switch button of the light in your room on, you shall always have light in your room and still leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/until-you-press-the-switch-button-of-the-light-in-your-room-on-you/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [“Because this is what shall be, the light and the dark together, two halves making a whole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/because-this-is-what-shall-be-the-light-and-the-dark-together-two/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [He who lives up to a little light shall have more light; he who lives up to a little knowledge shall have more knowledge;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/he-who-lives-up-to-a-little-light-shall-have-more-light-he-who-lives/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [“Darkness can always visit us; when it comes, we shall light a candle to welcome it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/darkness-can-always-visit-us-when-it-comes-we-shall-light-a-candle-to/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/so-the-darkness-shall-be-the-light-and-the-stillness-the-dancing/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [And thou hast stolen a jewel, Death! Shall light thy dark up like a Star. A Beacon kindling from afar Our light of love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-massey/and-thou-hast-stolen-a-jewel-death-shall-light-thy-dark-up-like-a/) [Gerald Massey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-massey/) > [So you may look lightly upon a Scripture and see nothing; meditate often upon it, and there you shall see a light, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-caryl/so-you-may-look-lightly-upon-a-scripture-and-see-nothing-meditate/) Joseph Caryl > [“As the dawn loves the sunlight that must cease Ere dawn again may rise and pass in peace; Must die that she being dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/as-the-dawn-loves-the-sunlight-that-must-cease-ere-dawn-again-may/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) ## More by Kenneth Patchen > [Do I not deal with angels When her lips I touch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/do-i-not-deal-with-angels-when-her-lips-i-touch/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [“The animal I wanted Couldn't get into the world I can hear it crying When I sit like this away from life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/the-animal-i-wanted-couldn-t-get-into-the-world-i-can-hear-it-crying/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [“It is the nature of man to expose with laws of doubt & impatience, no feeling of wonder that he should a participant in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/it-is-the-nature-of-man-to-expose-with-laws-of-doubt-impatience-no/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [Dogs with broken legs are shot; men with broken souls write through the night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/dogs-with-broken-legs-are-shot-men-with-broken-souls-write-through/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [Art is not to throw light but to be light...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/art-is-not-to-throw-light-but-to-be-light/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [I think people need a little joy and humor as well as commitment in their lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/i-think-people-need-a-little-joy-and-humor-as-well-as-commitment-in/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [It is fully practical to create that which has form in the silence. The noise art makes is usually heard by those whose lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/it-is-fully-practical-to-create-that-which-has-form-in-the-silence/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [Greatness and Truth can never be in danger from these murdering wretches. To perform one's duty, be it now, be it clean, and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/greatness-and-truth-can-never-be-in-danger-from-these-murdering/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [Literature is what you write when you think you should be saying something. Writing begins when you'd rather be doing anything else: and you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/literature-is-what-you-write-when-you-think-you-should-be-saying/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [Caring is the only daring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/caring-is-the-only-daring/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [I don't consider myself to be a painter. I think of myself as someone who has used the medium of painting in an attempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/i-don-t-consider-myself-to-be-a-painter-i-think-of-myself-as-someone/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [“Ah I can see that… You can see anything once you've been told it's there to see”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/ah-i-can-see-that-you-can-see-anything-once-you-ve-been-told-it-s/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [“I want to buy me a hat with a golden feather & a book with the confessions of God in it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/i-want-to-buy-me-a-hat-with-a-golden-feather-a-book-with-the/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [Law and order embrace on hate's border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/law-and-order-embrace-on-hate-s-border/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > ['THIS ROOM HAS MYSTERY LIKE A TRANCE' This room has mystery like a trance Of wine ; forget-me-nots of you Are chair and couch,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/this-room-has-mystery-like-a-trance-this-room-has-mystery-like-a/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) [Explore all 63 Kenneth Patchen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) ## More Imperialism quotes > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [American imperialism has always been the imperialism that has been frightened of speaking its name. Now it's beginning to do so. In a way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/american-imperialism-has-always-been-the-imperialism-that-has-been/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [We do not have the right to forget that reactionary imperialism exists and its forces actively operate in the world, that they encourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-grechko/we-do-not-have-the-right-to-forget-that-reactionary-imperialism/) Andrei Grechko > [The essence of what exists in the U.S. is not democracy but capitalism - imperialism. What the U.S. spreads around the world is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-avakian/the-essence-of-what-exists-in-the-u-s-is-not-democracy-but-capitalism/) [Bob Avakian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-avakian/) > [“Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations was in large part a critique of imperialism. We often associate opposition to imperialism with Marxism and the Left,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-brennan/adam-smith-s-wealth-of-nations-was-in-large-part-a-critique-of/) [Jason Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-brennan/) > [“Nationalism always preserved this initial intimate loyalty to the government and never quite lost its function of preserving a precarious balance between nation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/nationalism-always-preserved-this-initial-intimate-loyalty-to-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Even today to be civilised is held to be synonymous with being westernised. Advanced countries devote large resources to formulating and spreading ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/even-today-to-be-civilised-is-held-to-be-synonymous-with-being/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“What imperialists actually wanted was expansion of political power without the foundation of the body politic. Imperialist expansion had been touched off by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-imperialists-actually-wanted-was-expansion-of-political-power/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-came-to-realize-that-a-civilization-which-rode-roughshod-over-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [In order for the second scenario to win, the world would have to return where the struggle for independence and against Western colonialism and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/in-order-for-the-second-scenario-to-win-the-world-would-have-to/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [The only acceptable imperialism is the Imperialism of the Forest! Let the whole world are invaded by the tree-soldiers!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-only-acceptable-imperialism-is-the-imperialism-of-the-forest-let/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“All unknowns, at first, at least, to me, until I, like Columbus, “discovered” them. Is voyeurism a form of imperialism?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-rower/all-unknowns-at-first-at-least-to-me-until-i-like-columbus-discovered/) Ann Rower > [Imperialism is the underlying motor of racism. The underlying reason that racism keeps on being promoted in all of its various forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assata-shakur/imperialism-is-the-underlying-motor-of-racism-the-underlying-reason/) [Assata Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assata-shakur/) > [So long as there is imperialism in the world, a permanent peace is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-nasrallah/so-long-as-there-is-imperialism-in-the-world-a-permanent-peace-is/) [Hassan Nasrallah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-nasrallah/) [Browse all 412 Imperialism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperialism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What shall light us to murder & defile if by some chance the Laws of the State happen to get turned off?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth Patchen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/what-shall-light-us-to-murder-defile-if-by-some-chance-the-laws-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imperialism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/what-shall-light-us-to-murder-defile-if-by-some-chance-the-laws-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/kenneth-patchen-10815_imperialism_what-shall-light-us-to-murder-defile-if_288428.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/kenneth-patchen-10815_imperialism_what-shall-light-us-to-murder-defile-if_288428.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/kenneth-patchen-10815_imperialism_what-shall-light-us-to-murder-defile-if_288428.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What shall light us to murder & defile if by some chance the Laws of the State happen to get turned off?” — Kenneth Patchen", "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": "Kenneth Patchen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What shall light us to murder...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/what-shall-light-us-to-murder-defile-if-by-some-chance-the-laws-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/what-shall-light-us-to-murder-defile-if-by-some-chance-the-laws-of/#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 } } ] } ```