--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Violence breeds violence. Acts of…" description: "\"Violence breeds violence. Acts of violence committed in \"justice\" or in affirmation of \"rights\" or in defense of \"peace\" do not end violence. They prep..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ece/wendell-berry-236_acts-of-violence_violence-breeds-violence-acts-of-violenc_2409060.jpg" --- # Violence breeds violence. Acts of violence committed in… ![“Violence breeds violence. Acts of violence committed in "justice" or in affirmation of "rights" or in defense of "peace" do not end violence. They prepare and justify its continuation.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ece/wendell-berry-236_acts-of-violence_violence-breeds-violence-acts-of-violenc_2409060.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ece/wendell-berry-236_acts-of-violence_violence-breeds-violence-acts-of-violenc_2409060.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ece/wendell-berry-236_acts-of-violence_violence-breeds-violence-acts-of-violenc_2409060.jpg) > “Violence breeds violence. Acts of violence committed in "justice" or in affirmation of "rights" or in defense of "peace" do not end violence. They prepare and justify its continuation.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence creates a cycle where each act justifies the next, preventing true peace. **In simple terms:** Violence leads to more violence. Key Takeaway Break the cycle, choose non‑violence. Themes peace justice conflict ethics Mood determined reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - social activism - community mediation - policy reform - personal relationships Key Concepts non‑violent resistance moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can societies replace retributive justice with restorative practices? - What personal habits perpetuate cycles of aggression? A Different Perspective Non‑violent approaches may be ignored or suppressed by powerful interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acts of violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-of-violence/) [Affirmation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmation/) [Breeds Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breeds-violence-2044456/) [Committed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committed/) [Continuation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continuation/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Defense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defense/) [End Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-violence-261872/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justify/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Violence Acts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-acts-6059269/) [Violence Breeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-breeds-2044457/) [Violence Breeds Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-breeds-violence-212940/) [Violence Committed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-committed-892300/) ## Related quotes > [This much is clear: violence breeds violence, repression brings retaliation, and only a cleansing of our whole society can remove this sickness from our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/this-much-is-clear-violence-breeds-violence-repression-brings/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [“If violence breeds violence and hatred breeds the same...let's show humanity peace and love. Then we'll truly start making a difference!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/if-violence-breeds-violence-and-hatred-breeds-the-same-let-s-show/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [“Violence breeds violence. Hatred has grown into hearts… and has poisoned kindred blood…” “What?” Olsen grimaced. “Use a human language!” “Hard times are upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-sapkowski/violence-breeds-violence-hatred-has-grown-into-hearts-and-has/) [Andrzej Sapkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-sapkowski/) > [Violence breeds violence and I just don't think the world is too complex to set a peaceful precedent, but it seems the business of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-mckenna/violence-breeds-violence-and-i-just-don-t-think-the-world-is-too/) [Declan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-mckenna/) > [“Violence cannot remove violence... Violence breeds more violence and hate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-a-white/violence-cannot-remove-violence-violence-breeds-more-violence-and-hate/) [Jeffrey A. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-a-white/) > [“The most devious and sinister acts of historical violence are always committed by tyrants with armies—not citizens with arms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-daniel-parker/the-most-devious-and-sinister-acts-of-historical-violence-are-always/) [Seth Daniel Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-daniel-parker/) > [“The one great universal in the study of violence is that most of it is committed by fifteen-to-thirty-year-old men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/the-one-great-universal-in-the-study-of-violence-is-that-most-of-it/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [We would never ask any other faith community to stand up and condemn acts of violence committed by people within their groups. The fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-sarsour/we-would-never-ask-any-other-faith-community-to-stand-up-and-condemn/) [Linda Sarsour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-sarsour/) > [“Violence, once committed, lingered behind and subtly worked on those sensitive to its ugliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/violence-once-committed-lingered-behind-and-subtly-worked-on-those/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [The real violence is committed in the writing of history, the records of the legal system, the reporting of news, through the manipulation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/the-real-violence-is-committed-in-the-writing-of-history-the-records/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [...the crimes of violence committed for selfish, personal motives are historically insignificant compared to those committed ad majorem gloriam Dei, out of a self-sacrificing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-crimes-of-violence-committed-for-selfish-personal-motives-are/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [First of all, my persuasion is what really breeds violence is political differences. But because religion serves as the soul of community, it gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/first-of-all-my-persuasion-is-what-really-breeds-violence-is/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [“Remember...Violence only breeds violence & hate breeds hate...if we want to better humanity we must teach this to our future generations from young.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/remember-violence-only-breeds-violence-hate-breeds-hate-if-we-want-to/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [“poverty always breeds violence in one way or another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-graham/poverty-always-breeds-violence-in-one-way-or-another/) [Heather Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-graham/) > [I've been on the wrong end of violence, and I've done violence myself... I refuse to glorify violence in my movie and television roles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-garner/i-ve-been-on-the-wrong-end-of-violence-and-i-ve-done-violence-myself/) [James Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-garner/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Acts of violence quotes > [There was a man named Robert Dear who in court said he was a warrior for the babies, whose ex-wife talked about his Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/there-was-a-man-named-robert-dear-who-in-court-said-he-was-a-warrior/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [“By the time they're out of preschool, most children have already seen thousands of acts of violence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-k-vaughan/by-the-time-they-re-out-of-preschool-most-children-have-already-seen/) [Brian K. Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-k-vaughan/) > [We would never ask any other faith community to stand up and condemn acts of violence committed by people within their groups. The fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-sarsour/we-would-never-ask-any-other-faith-community-to-stand-up-and-condemn/) [Linda Sarsour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-sarsour/) > [I learned that victims come in all image - some raped, some witnessing an act of violence, some losing loved ones. I learned that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zainab-salbi/i-learned-that-victims-come-in-all-image-some-raped-some-witnessing/) [Zainab Salbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zainab-salbi/) > [I want people around the world to hear me. To all those who would do us harm, no act of terror will go unpunished.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-want-people-around-the-world-to-hear-me-to-all-those-who-would-do/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [How do we deal with not just the acts of violence, but the extremist ideology that lies behind them? Because though the numbers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/how-do-we-deal-with-not-just-the-acts-of-violence-but-the-extremist/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Muslim leaders around the globe have to continue working with us to decisively and unequivocally reject the hateful ideology that groups like ISIL and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/muslim-leaders-around-the-globe-have-to-continue-working-with-us-to/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The introduction of numbers as coordinates by reference to the particular division scheme of the open one-dimensional continuum is an act of violence whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-weyl/the-introduction-of-numbers-as-coordinates-by-reference-to-the/) [Hermann Weyl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-weyl/) > [“He wished he understood where they come from: all the terrorists, religious revolutionists and hate-criminals. Did terrorizing entire communities of people help them sleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thisuri-wanniarachchi/he-wished-he-understood-where-they-come-from-all-the-terrorists/) [Thisuri Wanniarachchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thisuri-wanniarachchi/) > [By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game 1 of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/by-the-age-of-18-the-average-american-has-witnessed-200-000-acts-of/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [Of course I tensed up when he touched me. To be with him was to hurt him-inevitably. And that's what I'd felt as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/of-course-i-tensed-up-when-he-touched-me-to-be-with-him-was-to-hurt/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [We have agreed with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to cease all acts of violence against the Israelis and against the Palestinians wherever they are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abbas/we-have-agreed-with-prime-minister-ariel-sharon-to-cease-all-acts-of/) [Mahmoud Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-abbas/) > [I feel like acts of violence against women are detestable, and they need to be dealt with, and they are important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-priestley/i-feel-like-acts-of-violence-against-women-are-detestable-and-they/) [Jason Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-priestley/) > [Another bigger problem is the fact that these incidents of police violence continue to occur because far too often the officers on the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakeem-jeffries/another-bigger-problem-is-the-fact-that-these-incidents-of-police/) [Hakeem Jeffries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakeem-jeffries/) > [During the summer of 2009, the debate on health care reform was emotional and intense. At its best, it represented the free exchange of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chellie-pingree/during-the-summer-of-2009-the-debate-on-health-care-reform-was/) [Chellie Pingree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chellie-pingree/) [Browse all 133 Acts of violence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-of-violence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Violence breeds violence. Acts of violence committed in \"justice\" or in affirmation of \"rights\" or in defense of \"peace\" do not end violence. 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