--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sex is not only a divine and beautiful…" description: "\"Sex is not only a divine and beautiful activity; it's a murderous activity. People kill each other in bed. Some of the greatest crimes ever committed w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/norman-mailer-839_activity_sex-is-not-only-a-divine-and-beautiful-a_887537.png" --- # Sex is not only a divine and beautiful activity; it's a… ![“Sex is not only a divine and beautiful activity; it's a murderous activity. People kill each other in bed. Some of the greatest crimes ever committed were committed in bed. And no weapons were used.” quote by Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/norman-mailer-839_activity_sex-is-not-only-a-divine-and-beautiful-a_887537.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/norman-mailer-839_activity_sex-is-not-only-a-divine-and-beautiful-a_887537.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eae/norman-mailer-839_activity_sex-is-not-only-a-divine-and-beautiful-a_887537.png) > “Sex is not only a divine and beautiful activity; it's a murderous activity. People kill each other in bed. Some of the greatest crimes ever committed were committed in bed. And no weapons were used.” [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sexual intimacy can be both beautiful and destructive, capable of causing profound harm without weapons. **In simple terms:** Sex can be loving yet also cause great harm. Key Takeaway Beware the destructive potential in intimate moments. Themes intimacy violence duality human nature Mood cautious thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - marriage counseling - sexual health education - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology ethics relationships Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can protect intimacy from harm? - How do cultural narratives influence our view of sex? A Different Perspective The statement generalizes and may ignore consensual, positive experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Activity Murderous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity-murderous-1114479/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) [Committed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committed/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Kill Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-bed-1114481/) [Murderous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murderous/) [Murderous Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murderous-activity-1114478/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Sex Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-divine-1114480/) [Sexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexuality/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) ## Related quotes > [Sex is the divine in its most available epiphany.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/sex-is-the-divine-in-its-most-available-epiphany/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [“Marital sex is a divine sympony between two people , and God is leading the orchestra .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osunsakin-adewale/marital-sex-is-a-divine-sympony-between-two-people-and-god-is-leading/) [Osunsakin Adewale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osunsakin-adewale/) > [Natural selection, as it has operated in human history, favors not only the clever but the murderous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/natural-selection-as-it-has-operated-in-human-history-favors-not-only/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [“It will not say, 'Isn't X beautiful?' Such demands are murderous to beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/it-will-not-say-isn-t-x-beautiful-such-demands-are-murderous-to-beauty/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [For a murderous blow let murderous blow atone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/for-a-murderous-blow-let-murderous-blow-atone/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“Sometimes I wonder which is worse: "To have to kill because it is your job, or to have no remorse for all the murderous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-e-royle/sometimes-i-wonder-which-is-worse-to-have-to-kill-because-it-is-your/) [Jason E. Royle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-e-royle/) > [The boy with the thorn in his side behind the hatred there lies a murderous desire for love~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey/the-boy-with-the-thorn-in-his-side-behind-the-hatred-there-lies-a/) [Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey/) > [“They’d never liked her before, for no one liked the Graced, but at least they’d tolerated her presence. Now there was no pretense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/they-d-never-liked-her-before-for-no-one-liked-the-graced-but-at/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [“Come,” he coaxed, “tell me a murderous, wicked thought.” She scowled at her shoe. “I have wanted to strangle my papa,” she muttered. “Egad!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/come-he-coaxed-tell-me-a-murderous-wicked-thought-she-scowled-at-her/) [Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/) > [Kylie turned and the spirit of the murderous woman stood beside her. 'You did this, didn't you?' 'Why would I burn up my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-c-hunter/kylie-turned-and-the-spirit-of-the-murderous-woman-stood-beside-her/) [C.C. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-c-hunter/) > [“What happens in my next chapter depends on whether I wake up feeling creative or murderous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-rachelle/what-happens-in-my-next-chapter-depends-on-whether-i-wake-up-feeling/) [Joyce Rachelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-rachelle/) > [“Why are we camped so far from the others?” she asked, striving to keep her voice calm. A fire had leapt to life some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/why-are-we-camped-so-far-from-the-others-she-asked-striving-to-keep/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [“And you offer her your direct protection?” He pinned a murderous glare to Thorn at the insinuation in his snide tone. The boots on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/and-you-offer-her-your-direct-protection-he-pinned-a-murderous-glare/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“...she was probably having a few murderous thoughts of her own about any woman that touched him. Good, they were making progress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-mathewson/she-was-probably-having-a-few-murderous-thoughts-of-her-own-about-any/) [R.L. Mathewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-mathewson/) > [This right here is murderous. I'm Mama Kreay the gangsterous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kreayshawn/this-right-here-is-murderous-i-m-mama-kreay-the-gangsterous/) [Kreayshawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kreayshawn/) ## More by Norman Mailer > [Conservatives are people who look at a tree and feel instinctively that it is more beautiful than anything they can name. But when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/conservatives-are-people-who-look-at-a-tree-and-feel-instinctively/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [There's a subterranean impetus towards pornography so powerful that half the business world is juiced by the sort of half sex that one finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/there-s-a-subterranean-impetus-towards-pornography-so-powerful-that/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Writing for a newspaper is like running a revolutionary war. You go to battle not when you are ready, but when action offers itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/writing-for-a-newspaper-is-like-running-a-revolutionary-war-you-go-to/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I would introduce myself if it were not useless. The name I had last night will not be the same as the name I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-would-introduce-myself-if-it-were-not-useless-the-name-i-had-last/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“City Point is so beautiful, she says. In the night they cannot see the garbage that litters the beach, the seaweed and driftwood, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/city-point-is-so-beautiful-she-says-in-the-night-they-cannot-see-the/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“I find it’s more fun to write about something that you don’t know completely and that you will discover on route. A dear friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-find-it-s-more-fun-to-write-about-something-that-you-don-t-know/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/part-of-the-oncoming-demise-of-new-york-during-its-terrible-fiscal/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I have always had this very strong, call it a feeling, call it a prejudice, call it a conviction ... that the mysteries are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-have-always-had-this-very-strong-call-it-a-feeling-call-it-a/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I do believe that America's deepest political sickness is that it is a self-righteous nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-do-believe-that-america-s-deepest-political-sickness-is-that-it-is/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [America is a hurricane, and the only people who do not hear the sound are those fortunate if incredibly stupid and smug White Protestants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/america-is-a-hurricane-and-the-only-people-who-do-not-hear-the-sound/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I was thinking that surgeons had to be the happiest people on earth. To cut people up and get paid for it-that's happiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-was-thinking-that-surgeons-had-to-be-the-happiest-people-on-earth/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Movies are more likely than literature to reach deep feelings in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/movies-are-more-likely-than-literature-to-reach-deep-feelings-in/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) [Explore all 355 Norman Mailer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sex is not only a divine and beautiful activity; it's a murderous activity. 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