---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He who cannot revenge himself is weak. He…"
description: "\"“He who cannot revenge himself is weak. He who will not is comtemptible.”\" — Mark Guggenheim"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/mark-guggenheim-260221_revenge_he-who-cannot-revenge-himself-is-weak-he_1755678.jpg"
---

#  He who cannot revenge himself is weak. He who will not is…

![“He who cannot revenge himself is weak. He who will not is comtemptible.” quote by Mark Guggenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/mark-guggenheim-260221_revenge_he-who-cannot-revenge-himself-is-weak-he_1755678.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/mark-guggenheim-260221_revenge_he-who-cannot-revenge-himself-is-weak-he_1755678.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/mark-guggenheim-260221_revenge_he-who-cannot-revenge-himself-is-weak-he_1755678.jpg)

> ““He who cannot revenge himself is weak. He who will not is comtemptible.””

[Mark Guggenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-guggenheim/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Revenge is portrayed as a sign of weakness, while refusing to seek it is seen as contemptible, highlighting moral paradoxes in retaliation.

**In simple terms:** Seeking revenge shows weakness; refusing shows contempt.

Key Takeaway

Choose forgiveness over retaliation.

Themes

morality revenge strength

Mood

thoughtful critical

Type

quote philosophical

When to use this quote

- conflict resolution
- personal ethics

Key Concepts

ethical paradox personal power

Questions to Reflect On

- Is it stronger to resist vengeance?
- What defines true moral strength?

A Different Perspective

Revenge may perpetuate cycles of harm.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [Revenge Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge-weak-1646211/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) [Weak Comtemptible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak-comtemptible-1646212/)

## Related quotes

> [“Revenge is for the weak, the strong forgive; For only a strong person can live with the pain of forgiveness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamila-edel/revenge-is-for-the-weak-the-strong-forgive-for-only-a-strong-person/)

[Kamila Edel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamila-edel/)

> [Revenge is always the weak pleasure of a little and narrow mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/revenge-is-always-the-weak-pleasure-of-a-little-and-narrow-mind/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Revenge is for the weak so I have settled my vendettas with all of the kids who made my early life a living hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-glover/revenge-is-for-the-weak-so-i-have-settled-my-vendettas-with-all-of/)

[Donald Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-glover/)

> [“They say the best laid plans often go a lie, Because no matter how detailed the preparation, A plan will always have a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thorne/they-say-the-best-laid-plans-often-go-a-lie-because-no-matter-how/)

[Emily Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thorne/)

> [The truth is that family values, as used by the American Family Association, Dan Quayle, and the southern Baptists, has nothing to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-sullivan/the-truth-is-that-family-values-as-used-by-the-american-family/)

[Morris Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-sullivan/)

> [If someone steals my man, there's no better revenge than letting her keep him. A real man can't be stolen unless he wants to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/if-someone-steals-my-man-there-s-no-better-revenge-than-letting-her/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [If you put together all the ingredients that naturally attract children - sex, violence, revenge, spectacle and vigorous noise - what you have is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/if-you-put-together-all-the-ingredients-that-naturally-attract/)

[Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/)

> [Convulsive anger storms at large; or pale And silent, settles into full revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tillotson/convulsive-anger-storms-at-large-or-pale-and-silent-settles-into-full/)

[John Tillotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tillotson/)

> [How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/how-could-a-readiness-for-war-in-time-of-peace-be-safely-prohibited/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

> [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [And, re-assembling our afflicted powers, consult how we may henceforth most offend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-re-assembling-our-afflicted-powers-consult-how-we-may-henceforth/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [The best revenge in the world is success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suge-knight/the-best-revenge-in-the-world-is-success/)

[Suge Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suge-knight/)

> [Revenge is a dish better severed cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushan/revenge-is-a-dish-better-severed-cold/)

[Sushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushan/)

> [“The best way to take revenge of me is to make me see you successful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/the-best-way-to-take-revenge-of-me-is-to-make-me-see-you-successful/)

[P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/)

> [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/)

[James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/)

## More Revenge quotes

> [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/)

[James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/)

> [“The best way to take revenge of me is to make me see you successful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/the-best-way-to-take-revenge-of-me-is-to-make-me-see-you-successful/)

[P.S. Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/)

> [Revenge is a dish better severed cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushan/revenge-is-a-dish-better-severed-cold/)

[Sushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushan/)

> [The best revenge in the world is success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suge-knight/the-best-revenge-in-the-world-is-success/)

[Suge Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suge-knight/)

> [And, re-assembling our afflicted powers, consult how we may henceforth most offend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-re-assembling-our-afflicted-powers-consult-how-we-may-henceforth/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/how-could-a-readiness-for-war-in-time-of-peace-be-safely-prohibited/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

> [Convulsive anger storms at large; or pale And silent, settles into full revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tillotson/convulsive-anger-storms-at-large-or-pale-and-silent-settles-into-full/)

[John Tillotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tillotson/)

> [If you put together all the ingredients that naturally attract children - sex, violence, revenge, spectacle and vigorous noise - what you have is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/if-you-put-together-all-the-ingredients-that-naturally-attract/)

[Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/)

> [If someone steals my man, there's no better revenge than letting her keep him. A real man can't be stolen unless he wants to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/if-someone-steals-my-man-there-s-no-better-revenge-than-letting-her/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-best-revenge-is-to-be-unlike-him-who-performed-the-injury/)

[Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/)

> [But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-was-finally-i-knew-only-rupture/)

[Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/)

> [As I predicted, young people who overwhelmingly didn't want Brexit have turned out in their droves and exacted revenge on a generation of Leavers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-soubry/as-i-predicted-young-people-who-overwhelmingly-didn-t-want-brexit/)

[Anna Soubry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-soubry/)

> [I am not vindictive, but very forgiving. Despite being wronged, I never took revenge on anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rituparna-sengupta/i-am-not-vindictive-but-very-forgiving-despite-being-wronged-i-never/)

[Rituparna Sengupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rituparna-sengupta/)

> [“the human is offered a choice: they can get revenge on me, or they can accept their pain and continue their journey”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wade/the-human-is-offered-a-choice-they-can-get-revenge-on-me-or-they-can/)

[Tobias Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wade/)

[Browse all 2,625 Revenge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“He who cannot revenge himself is weak. He who will not is comtemptible.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mark Guggenheim"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-guggenheim/he-who-cannot-revenge-himself-is-weak-he-who-will-not-is-comtemptible/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Revenge"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-guggenheim/he-who-cannot-revenge-himself-is-weak-he-who-will-not-is-comtemptible/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/mark-guggenheim-260221_revenge_he-who-cannot-revenge-himself-is-weak-he_1755678.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/mark-guggenheim-260221_revenge_he-who-cannot-revenge-himself-is-weak-he_1755678.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/244/mark-guggenheim-260221_revenge_he-who-cannot-revenge-himself-is-weak-he_1755678.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“He who cannot revenge himself is weak. He who will not is comtemptible.” — Mark Guggenheim",
                "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": "Mark Guggenheim",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-guggenheim/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“He who cannot revenge himself is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-guggenheim/he-who-cannot-revenge-himself-is-weak-he-who-will-not-is-comtemptible/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-guggenheim/he-who-cannot-revenge-himself-is-weak-he-who-will-not-is-comtemptible/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
