--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is man who kills, man who creates or…" description: "\"“It is man who kills, man who creates or suffers injustice; it is no longer man who, having lost all restraint, shares his bed with a corpse. Whoever w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/primo-levi-2751_crime_it-is-man-who-kills-man-who-creates-or-s_2213823.jpg" --- # It is man who kills, man who creates or suffers injustice… ![“It is man who kills, man who creates or suffers injustice; it is no longer man who, having lost all restraint, shares his bed with a corpse. Whoever waits for his neighbor to die in order to take his piece of bread is, albeit guiltless, further from the model of thinking man than the most…” quote by Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/primo-levi-2751_crime_it-is-man-who-kills-man-who-creates-or-s_2213823.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/primo-levi-2751_crime_it-is-man-who-kills-man-who-creates-or-s_2213823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/primo-levi-2751_crime_it-is-man-who-kills-man-who-creates-or-s_2213823.jpg) > ““It is man who kills, man who creates or suffers injustice; it is no longer man who, having lost all restraint, shares his bed with a corpse. Whoever waits for his neighbor to die in order to take his piece of bread is, albeit guiltless, further from the model of thinking man than the most primitive pigmy or the most vicious sadist".”” [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. Human beings can become both oppressors and victims; moral decay occurs when empathy fades and survival instincts dominate. **In simple terms:** Loss of empathy leads to cruelty. Key Takeaway Cultivate empathy, protect dignity. Themes ethics human nature violence Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - war zones - prison systems - social inequality Key Concepts moral philosophy dehumanization Questions to Reflect On - How can societies rebuild empathy after trauma? - What personal actions prevent dehumanization? A Different Perspective Complex historical contexts can blur moral judgments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bed Corpse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed-corpse-4913971/) [Corpse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corpse/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Injustice Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice-longer-2146293/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Kills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kills/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Primo-levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primo-levi-149234/) [Suffers Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffers-injustice-2005865/) [The-holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-holocaust-187008/) [Thinking man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-man/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wwii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wwii/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [“... and finally there came the customer we'd always dreamed of, who wanted us as consultants. To be a consultant is the ideal work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/and-finally-there-came-the-customer-we-d-always-dreamed-of-who-wanted/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [“That the nobility of Man, acquired in a hundred centuries of trial and error, lay in making himself the conquerer of matter, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/primo-levi/that-the-nobility-of-man-acquired-in-a-hundred-centuries-of-trial-and/) [Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/primo-levi/) > [If any of you happens to see an injustice, you are no longer a spectator, you are a participant, and you have an obligation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-callwood/if-any-of-you-happens-to-see-an-injustice-you-are-no-longer-a/) [June Callwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-callwood/) > [“Those of us directed towards the right were lined up in threes with much shooting and beating. I was in the first row, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azriel-feuerstein/those-of-us-directed-towards-the-right-were-lined-up-in-threes-with/) [Azriel Feuerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azriel-feuerstein/) > [“Make government the herder of the flock, and the herder will cull the undesirable sheep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-samaan/make-government-the-herder-of-the-flock-and-the-herder-will-cull-the/) [A.E. Samaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-samaan/) > [I cannot say to a person who suffers injustice, 'Wait.' Perhaps you can. I can't. And having decided that I cannot urge caution I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-casey-cason/i-cannot-say-to-a-person-who-suffers-injustice-wait-perhaps-you-can-i/) [Sandra Casey Cason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-casey-cason/) > [No man suffers injustice without learning, vaguely but surely, what justice is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-rosenfeld/no-man-suffers-injustice-without-learning-vaguely-but-surely-what/) [Isaac Rosenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-rosenfeld/) > [There are times when we suffer innocently at other people’s hands. When that occurs, we are victims of injustice. But that injustice happens on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-times-when-we-suffer-innocently-at-other-people-s-hands/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone suffers some injustice in life, and what better motivation than to help others not suffer in the same way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-thorne/everyone-suffers-some-injustice-in-life-and-what-better-motivation/) [Bella Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-thorne/) > [One of the things that makes a Negro unpleasant to white folk is the fact that he suffers from their injustice. He is thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/one-of-the-things-that-makes-a-negro-unpleasant-to-white-folk-is-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“But here you might have noticed something. I said, ‘It stands to reason’. Do you see ? Men have a weapon against you. Reason.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/but-here-you-might-have-noticed-something-i-said-it-stands-to-reason/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Man must speak, then sing, then dance. The speaking is the brain, the thinking man. The singing is the emotion. The dancing is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/man-must-speak-then-sing-then-dance-the-speaking-is-the-brain-the/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [Part of the broader task of Christian scholarship is to help create and sustain a cultural milieu in which the gospel can be heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/part-of-the-broader-task-of-christian-scholarship-is-to-help-create/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [I've said many times before that Pebble Beach is a wonderful thinking-man's golf course. That is why it is such a great U.S. Open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/i-ve-said-many-times-before-that-pebble-beach-is-a-wonderful-thinking/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) ## 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 Corpse quotes > [“WORDS ARE TEETH. AND THEY EAT ME ALIVE. FEED ON MY CORPSE INSTEAD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-giles/words-are-teeth-and-they-eat-me-alive-feed-on-my-corpse-instead/) [Gail Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-giles/) > [“So I should not hate Adolin Kholin for wielding a corpse!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/so-i-should-not-hate-adolin-kholin-for-wielding-a-corpse/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [ René of Anjou \[(1409-80)\] painted a picture of his mistress's corpse as he found it eaten by worms on having it \[her tomb\] openedon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/ren-of-anjou-1409-80-painted-a-picture-of-his-mistress-s-corpse-as-he/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [“such is their image of man’s nature: the battleground of a struggle between a corpse and a ghost,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/such-is-their-image-of-man-s-nature-the-battleground-of-a-struggle/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was dry, dry inside like a ten-thousand-year-old tomb, with the last of her life barely dampening the dirt underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-rosenfield/she-was-dry-dry-inside-like-a-ten-thousand-year-old-tomb-with-the/) [Kat Rosenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-rosenfield/) > [The government increasingly resembles somebody who is trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-cable/the-government-increasingly-resembles-somebody-who-is-trying-to-give/) [Vince Cable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-cable/) > [I never change, I'm like a corpse in a coffin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-cole/i-never-change-i-m-like-a-corpse-in-a-coffin/) [J Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-cole/) > [“You and I are victims of the same disease. We're fighting the same war, just different battles in different theaters, and it's way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/you-and-i-are-victims-of-the-same-disease-we-re-fighting-the-same-war/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [Alas, poor Yorick! How surprised he would be to see how his counterpart of today is whisked off to a funeral parlor and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/alas-poor-yorick-how-surprised-he-would-be-to-see-how-his-counterpart/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [Well, my friend, this earth will one day be that cold corpse; it will become uninhabitable and uninhabited like the moon, which has long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/well-my-friend-this-earth-will-one-day-be-that-cold-corpse-it-will/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [“Bagpipe Music' It's no go the merrygoround, it's no go the rickshaw, All we want is a limousine and a ticket for the peepshow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/bagpipe-music-it-s-no-go-the-merrygoround-it-s-no-go-the-rickshaw-all/) [Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/) > [“Now, feel free to call me what I am-call me a corpse, call me dead, call me a killer if you want. I've killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-habel/now-feel-free-to-call-me-what-i-am-call-me-a-corpse-call-me-dead-call/) [Lia Habel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-habel/) > [“I’ve heard that sometimes a version of you must die before another more enlightened version can be born. I think that’s true after watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-flygare/i-ve-heard-that-sometimes-a-version-of-you-must-die-before-another/) [Julie Flygare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-flygare/) > [“In some warped way, having an embalmed body with us made perfect sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/in-some-warped-way-having-an-embalmed-body-with-us-made-perfect-sense/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [Memory heaps dead leaves on corpse-like deeds, from under which they do but vaguely offend the sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/memory-heaps-dead-leaves-on-corpse-like-deeds-from-under-which-they/) [John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/) [Browse all 240 Corpse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corpse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is man who kills, man who creates or suffers injustice; it is no longer man who, having lost all restraint, shares his bed with a corpse. 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