--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're the sons appalled by violence, with…" description: "\"“We're the sons appalled by violence, with no capacity for inflicting physical pain, useless at beating and clubbing, unfit to pulverize even the most ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/philip-roth-681_physical-pain_we-re-the-sons-appalled-by-violence-with_1755063.jpg" --- # We're the sons appalled by violence, with no capacity for… ![“We're the sons appalled by violence, with no capacity for inflicting physical pain, useless at beating and clubbing, unfit to pulverize even the most deserving enemy, though not necessarily without turbulence, temper, even ferocity. We have teeth as the cannibals do, but they are there, imbedded…” quote by Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/philip-roth-681_physical-pain_we-re-the-sons-appalled-by-violence-with_1755063.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/philip-roth-681_physical-pain_we-re-the-sons-appalled-by-violence-with_1755063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/philip-roth-681_physical-pain_we-re-the-sons-appalled-by-violence-with_1755063.jpg) > ““We're the sons appalled by violence, with no capacity for inflicting physical pain, useless at beating and clubbing, unfit to pulverize even the most deserving enemy, though not necessarily without turbulence, temper, even ferocity. We have teeth as the cannibals do, but they are there, imbedded in our jaws, the better to help us articulate. When we lay waste, when we efface, it isn't with raging fists or ruthless schemes or insane sprawling violence but with our words, our brains, with mentality, with all the stuff that produced the poignant abyss between our fathers and us and that they themselves broke their backs to give us.”” [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on intellectual violence versus physical force, suggesting modern people wield words and ideas to cause deep societal disruption instead of direct physical aggression. **In simple terms:** We fight with ideas, not fists. Key Takeaway Use words wisely to influence change. Themes intellectual conflict modern alienation violence communication Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political discourse - media influence - academic debate - family dynamics - cultural critique Key Concepts philosophy social critique psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do words shape societal change? - When is physical action necessary? A Different Perspective Physical force still matters in some contexts; ideas may be limited without action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appalled Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appalled-violence-1639644/) [Cannibals Imbedded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cannibals-imbedded-1639646/) [Physical pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-pain/) [Sons Appalled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sons-appalled-1639643/) [Teeth Cannibals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth-cannibals-1639645/) [Violence Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-words-1478006/) ## Related quotes > [ “\[Football\] has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/football-has-nothing-to-do-with-fair-play-it-is-bound-up-with-hatred/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“RA is the use of relationships to hurt another, a way of verbal violence in which words rather than fists inflict damage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-dellasega/ra-is-the-use-of-relationships-to-hurt-another-a-way-of-verbal/) [Cheryl Dellasega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-dellasega/) > [Bullys are the small group who should perish not by voilence, but by non violence, words not fists, thats the awnser to our problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-long/bullys-are-the-small-group-who-should-perish-not-by-voilence-but-by/) [Timothy Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-long/) > [To destroy a man is difficult, almost as difficult as to create one: it has not been easy, nor quick, but you Germans have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/to-destroy-a-man-is-difficult-almost-as-difficult-as-to-create-one-it/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“...you do violence with your words if you force them - art is given - the words received, moment by moment from unseen hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/you-do-violence-with-your-words-if-you-force-them-art-is-given-the/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/serious-sport-has-nothing-to-do-with-fair-play-it-is-bound-up-with/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“The Lord is not only tender and merciful and full of compassion, but He is also the God of justice, holiness and wrath…Compassion is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-lord-is-not-only-tender-and-merciful-and-full-of-compassion-but/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you. Pain is inevitable. Misery is optional. Physical pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara/pain-nourishes-courage-you-can-t-be-brave-if-you-ve-only-had/) [Barbara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara/) > [Physical pain is problematic because it's very difficult to transcend that. Sometimes you're just in physical pain, and that's a bummer. Even then, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ebert/physical-pain-is-problematic-because-it-s-very-difficult-to-transcend/) [Alex Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ebert/) > [When love doesn't work, we hurt. 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Detta's mouth was swollen from grazing his stubble and he couldn't stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-a-kuzniar/you-want-to-know-how-i-see-you-forster-s-voice-turned-husky-detta-s/) [M.A. Kuzniar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-a-kuzniar/) > [“All he felt was sorrow, as if he’d been abandoned at the bottom of a deep, dark pit. That’s all it was—sorrow. That, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/all-he-felt-was-sorrow-as-if-he-d-been-abandoned-at-the-bottom-of-a/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by Philip Roth > [“The old intergenerational give-and-take of the country-that-used-to-be, when everyone knew his role and took the rules dead seriously, the acculturating back-and-forth that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-old-intergenerational-give-and-take-of-the-country-that-used-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. You'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-be-greater-than-your-feelings-i-don-t-demand-this-of-you-life/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Nothing bad can happen to a writer. Everything is material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/nothing-bad-can-happen-to-a-writer-everything-is-material/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. 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Reasons are in books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/there-are-no-reasons-she-is-obliged-to-be-as-she-is-we-all-are/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“As far as I can see there is no conquering or exorcising the past with words - words born either of imagination or forthrightness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/as-far-as-i-can-see-there-is-no-conquering-or-exorcising-the-past/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [The book really comes to life in the rewriting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-book-really-comes-to-life-in-the-rewriting/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Good Christ, a Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy till they die!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/good-christ-a-jewish-man-with-parents-alive-is-a-fifteen-year-old-boy/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [I am the Raskolnikov of jerking off – the sticky evidence is everywhere!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/i-am-the-raskolnikov-of-jerking-off-the-sticky-evidence-is-everywhere/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Better for real things to be uncontrollable, better for one's life to be undecipherable and intellectually impenetrable than to attempt to make casual sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/better-for-real-things-to-be-uncontrollable-better-for-one-s-life-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Doctor Spielvogel, it alleviates nothing fixing the blame - blaming is still ailing, of course, of course - but nonetheless, what was it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/doctor-spielvogel-it-alleviates-nothing-fixing-the-blame-blaming-is/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [My God! The English language is a form of communication! Conversation isn't just crossfire where you shoot and get shot at! Where you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/my-god-the-english-language-is-a-form-of-communication-conversation/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You asked if I thought my fiction had changed anything in the culture and the answer is no. Sure, there's been some scandal, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-asked-if-i-thought-my-fiction-had-changed-anything-in-the-culture/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) [Explore all 388 Philip Roth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## More Physical pain quotes > [“All he felt was sorrow, as if he’d been abandoned at the bottom of a deep, dark pit. That’s all it was—sorrow. That, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/all-he-felt-was-sorrow-as-if-he-d-been-abandoned-at-the-bottom-of-a/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You want to know how I see you?' Forster's voice turned husky. Detta's mouth was swollen from grazing his stubble and he couldn't stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-a-kuzniar/you-want-to-know-how-i-see-you-forster-s-voice-turned-husky-detta-s/) [M.A. Kuzniar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-a-kuzniar/) > [Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/being-human-we-would-expel-from-our-lives-physical-pain-and-mental/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [With every physical pain, my moral fibre unravels a little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/with-every-physical-pain-my-moral-fibre-unravels-a-little/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [When love doesn't work, we hurt. Indeed, “hurt feelings” is a precisely accurate phrase, according to psychologist Naomi Eisenberger of the University of California.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-johnson/when-love-doesn-t-work-we-hurt-indeed-hurt-feelings-is-a-precisely/) [Sue Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-johnson/) > [Physical pain is problematic because it's very difficult to transcend that. Sometimes you're just in physical pain, and that's a bummer. Even then, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ebert/physical-pain-is-problematic-because-it-s-very-difficult-to-transcend/) [Alex Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ebert/) > [Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you. Pain is inevitable. Misery is optional. Physical pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara/pain-nourishes-courage-you-can-t-be-brave-if-you-ve-only-had/) [Barbara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara/) > [“The Lord is not only tender and merciful and full of compassion, but He is also the God of justice, holiness and wrath…Compassion is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-lord-is-not-only-tender-and-merciful-and-full-of-compassion-but/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [After the dead are buried, after the physical pain of grief has become a permanent wound in the soul, then comes the transcendent and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus/after-the-dead-are-buried-after-the-physical-pain-of-grief-has-become/) [Andre Dubus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus/) > [“We cut ourselves. 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