--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man who would mutilate himself is well…" description: "\"A man who would mutilate himself is well damned, isn't he?\" — Primo Levi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/primo-levi-2751_men_a-man-who-would-mutilate-himself-is-well_1372922.jpg" --- # A man who would mutilate himself is well damned, isn't he? ![“A man who would mutilate himself is well damned, isn't he?” quote by Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/primo-levi-2751_men_a-man-who-would-mutilate-himself-is-well_1372922.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/primo-levi-2751_men_a-man-who-would-mutilate-himself-is-well_1372922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/primo-levi-2751_men_a-man-who-would-mutilate-himself-is-well_1372922.jpg) > “A man who would mutilate himself is well damned, isn't he?” [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑harm reflects profound suffering and moral condemnation, highlighting the darkness of human desperation **In simple terms:** Self‑harm shows deep suffering and moral failing Key Takeaway Recognize and address mental anguish before it escalates Themes ethics psychology humanity Mood somber reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - counseling sessions - ethical debates - personal reflection Key Concepts mental health moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What support systems can prevent self‑destruction? - How does society view self‑harm and why? A Different Perspective Stigma may prevent seeking help, worsening outcomes ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damned/) [Damned Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damned-isn-4732457/) [Man Mutilate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-mutilate-4732455/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mutilate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutilate-782328/) [Mutilate Damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutilate-damned-4732456/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [A man who wants to mutilate himself is certainly damned, isn't he?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/a-man-who-wants-to-mutilate-himself-is-certainly-damned-isn-t-he/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [We mutilate the meanings, so they are easy to deny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smashing-pumpkins/we-mutilate-the-meanings-so-they-are-easy-to-deny/) [Smashing Pumpkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smashing-pumpkins/) > [Do not fold, spindle or mutilate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/do-not-fold-spindle-or-mutilate/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [“Men do not become what by nature they are meant to be, but what society makes them... generous feelings... are, as it were, shrunk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbridge-colby/men-do-not-become-what-by-nature-they-are-meant-to-be-but-what/) [Elbridge Colby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbridge-colby/) > [When I was younger, I did self-mutilate. I'd be upset, so I'd do it, & it would calm me down. It's a horrible way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/when-i-was-younger-i-did-self-mutilate-i-d-be-upset-so-i-d-do-it-it/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [People out there must be told about the self-loathing that follows rape and how it's the greatest breakage in divine law to mutilate themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/people-out-there-must-be-told-about-the-self-loathing-that-follows/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [“The pictures are bound to mutilate the words. Those words weren't meant to have pictures with them!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-pictures-are-bound-to-mutilate-the-words-those-words-weren-t/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [When you rape, beat, maim, mutilate, burn, bury, and terrorize women, you destroy the essential life energy on the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/when-you-rape-beat-maim-mutilate-burn-bury-and-terrorize-women-you/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [When you mutilate movies for mass media, you tamper with the hearts and minds of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-beatty/when-you-mutilate-movies-for-mass-media-you-tamper-with-the-hearts/) [Warren Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-beatty/) > [“Go forth and mutilate fish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-hardy/go-forth-and-mutilate-fish/) [Janice Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-hardy/) > [You'll never see the moments coming that will for ever mutilate your life-at least not until after they've mowed you down. -Savitar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/you-ll-never-see-the-moments-coming-that-will-for-ever-mutilate-your/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I've never met a man I didn't mutilate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-stanshall/i-ve-never-met-a-man-i-didn-t-mutilate/) [Vivian Stanshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-stanshall/) > [Society isn't a simple organism with one nucleus and a fringe of little feet, it's an infinitely complex living structure and if you try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/society-isn-t-a-simple-organism-with-one-nucleus-and-a-fringe-of/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [“They mutilate they torment each other with silences with words as if they had another life to live they do so as if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadeusz-r-ewicz/they-mutilate-they-torment-each-other-with-silences-with-words-as-if/) [Tadeusz Rózewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadeusz-r-ewicz/) > [Life does not need to mutilate itself in order to be pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/life-does-not-need-to-mutilate-itself-in-order-to-be-pure/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) ## More by Primo Levi > [I too entered the Lager as a nonbeliever, and as a nonbeliever I was liberated and have lived to this day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/i-too-entered-the-lager-as-a-nonbeliever-and-as-a-nonbeliever-i-was/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [Man is a centaur, a tangle of flesh and mind, divine inspiration and dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/man-is-a-centaur-a-tangle-of-flesh-and-mind-divine-inspiration-and/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [Our ignorance allowed us to live, as you are in the mountains, and your rope is frayed and about to break, but you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/our-ignorance-allowed-us-to-live-as-you-are-in-the-mountains-and-your/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“Válka, to je hlavně velký zmatek, na poli i v lidských hlavách: často člověk ani nechápe, kdo vlastně vítězí a kdo prohrává, o tom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/v-lka-to-je-hlavn-velk-zmatek-na-poli-i-v-lidsk-ch-hlav-ch-asto-lov-k/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“An extreme case of the distortion of the memory of a committed guilty act is found in its suppression. Here, too, the borderline between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/an-extreme-case-of-the-distortion-of-the-memory-of-a-committed-guilty/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“It was the shame we knew so well, the shame that drowned us after the selections, and every time we had to watch, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/it-was-the-shame-we-knew-so-well-the-shame-that-drowned-us-after-the/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [An enemy who sees the error of his ways ceases to be an enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/an-enemy-who-sees-the-error-of-his-ways-ceases-to-be-an-enemy/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“Willingly or not we come to terms with power, forgetting that we are all in the ghetto, that the ghetto is walled in, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/willingly-or-not-we-come-to-terms-with-power-forgetting-that-we-are/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [Nothing can be said: nothing sure, nothing probable, nothing honest. Better to err through omission than through commission: better to refrain from steering the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/nothing-can-be-said-nothing-sure-nothing-probable-nothing-honest/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“We were also born," Line said abruptly. Mendel questioned her with a look, and Line tried to clarify her thought: "Born, expelled. Russia conceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/we-were-also-born-line-said-abruptly-mendel-questioned-her-with-a/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“They are the typical product of the structure of the German Lager: if one offers a position of privilege to a few individuals in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/they-are-the-typical-product-of-the-structure-of-the-german-lager-if/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [Anyone who has obeyed nature by transmitting a piece of gossip experiences the explosive relief that accompanies the satisfying of a primary need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/anyone-who-has-obeyed-nature-by-transmitting-a-piece-of-gossip/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [I beg the reader not to go in search of messages. It is a term that I detest because it distresses me greatly, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/i-beg-the-reader-not-to-go-in-search-of-messages-it-is-a-term-that-i/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“One of them declared: 'Doing this work, one either goes crazy the first day or gets accustomed to it.' Another, though: 'Certainly I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/one-of-them-declared-doing-this-work-one-either-goes-crazy-the-first/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [For me chemistry represented an indefinite cloud of future potentialities which enveloped my life to come in black volutes torn by fiery flashes, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/for-me-chemistry-represented-an-indefinite-cloud-of-future/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) [Explore all 130 Primo Levi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) ## More Damned quotes > [Sir, my friend John Baynes used to say that the man who published a book without an index ought to be damned ten miles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-douce/sir-my-friend-john-baynes-used-to-say-that-the-man-who-published-a/) [Francis Douce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-douce/) > [“The future be damned. Because right here, right now, I almost lost you. I won’t waste another moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renea-mason/the-future-be-damned-because-right-here-right-now-i-almost-lost-you-i/) [Renea Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renea-mason/) > [People are no damned good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-steig/people-are-no-damned-good/) [William Steig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-steig/) > [Let them impeach and be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-johnson/let-them-impeach-and-be-damned/) [Andrew Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-johnson/) > [Life is a paradox, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-cartwright/life-is-a-paradox-you-re-damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don-t/) [Nancy Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-cartwright/) > [The human race consists of the damned and the ought-to-be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-human-race-consists-of-the-damned-and-the-ought-to-be-damned/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Dead star shine Light up the sky I'm all out of breath My walls are closing in Days go by Give me a sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proudlesbian/dead-star-shine-light-up-the-sky-i-m-all-out-of-breath-my-walls-are/) [ProudLesbian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proudlesbian/) > [You have told me, O God, to believe in hell. But you have forbidden me to think...of any man as damned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/you-have-told-me-o-god-to-believe-in-hell-but-you-have-forbidden-me/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [“Jonathan Edwards, the dear old soul, who, if his doctrine is true, is now in heaven rubbing his holy hands with glee, as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/jonathan-edwards-the-dear-old-soul-who-if-his-doctrine-is-true-is-now/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [“With thousands of roads before us that lead nowhere, going in circles. There really are only two roads we will either travel, one going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/with-thousands-of-roads-before-us-that-lead-nowhere-going-in-circles/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [What rage for fame attends both great and small! Better be damned than mentioned not at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wolcot/what-rage-for-fame-attends-both-great-and-small-better-be-damned-than/) [John Wolcot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wolcot/) > [Those who think of freedom in this country as one long, broad path leading ever onward and upward are dead damned wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/those-who-think-of-freedom-in-this-country-as-one-long-broad-path/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Take what's yours and be damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genesis/take-what-s-yours-and-be-damned/) [Genesis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genesis/) > [I'm damned if I do, but I'm only darned if I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king/i-m-damned-if-i-do-but-i-m-only-darned-if-i-don-t/) [John Alejandro King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king/) > [“Basically, if you're a woman, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-steven/basically-if-you-re-a-woman-you-re-damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you/) [Laura Steven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-steven/) [Browse all 219 Damned quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damned/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man who would mutilate himself is well damned, isn't he?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Primo Levi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/a-man-who-would-mutilate-himself-is-well-damned-isn-t-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Damned" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/a-man-who-would-mutilate-himself-is-well-damned-isn-t-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/primo-levi-2751_men_a-man-who-would-mutilate-himself-is-well_1372922.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/primo-levi-2751_men_a-man-who-would-mutilate-himself-is-well_1372922.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c3/primo-levi-2751_men_a-man-who-would-mutilate-himself-is-well_1372922.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A man who would mutilate himself is well damned, isn't he?” — Primo Levi", "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": "Primo Levi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A man who would mutilate himself...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/a-man-who-would-mutilate-himself-is-well-damned-isn-t-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/a-man-who-would-mutilate-himself-is-well-damned-isn-t-he/#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 } } ] } ```