---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For the gods know I speak this in hunger…"
description: "\"“For the gods know I speak this in hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge”\" — William Shakespeare"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/william-shakespeare-4_hunger_for-the-gods-know-i-speak-this-in-hunger_367616.jpg"
---

#  For the gods know I speak this in hunger for bread, not in…

![“For the gods know I speak this in hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge” quote by William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/william-shakespeare-4_hunger_for-the-gods-know-i-speak-this-in-hunger_367616.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/william-shakespeare-4_hunger_for-the-gods-know-i-speak-this-in-hunger_367616.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/william-shakespeare-4_hunger_for-the-gods-know-i-speak-this-in-hunger_367616.jpg)

> ““For the gods know I speak this in hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge””

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A speaker claims their motive is basic survival, not vengeance, highlighting humility and need.

**In simple terms:** I seek food, not revenge.

Key Takeaway

Focus on essential needs before seeking retribution.

Themes

survival humility revenge motivation

Mood

thoughtful calm

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- hunger crises
- personal grudges
- legal disputes
- family conflicts
- resource scarcity

Key Concepts

human nature ethical choice conflict resolution

Questions to Reflect On

- What needs drive your actions?
- Can you separate survival from retaliation?

A Different Perspective

Even basic needs can be twisted into justification for aggression.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/)

## Related quotes

> [Sometimes people can hunger for more than bread. It is possible that our children, our husband, our wife, do not hunger for bread, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/sometimes-people-can-hunger-for-more-than-bread-it-is-possible-that/)

[Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/)

> [...to speak of them out loud, to speak of their hunger and pain and loneliness and humour, to make them visible so that can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/to-speak-of-them-out-loud-to-speak-of-their-hunger-and-pain-and/)

[Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/)

> [People don't speak of hunger when they know what it is to be hungry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/people-don-t-speak-of-hunger-when-they-know-what-it-is-to-be-hungry/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [I wonder do the gods know what it feels like to be a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wonder-do-the-gods-know-what-it-feels-like-to-be-a-man/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“When we die," she said, "I don't think the gods will even know what to do with us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/when-we-die-she-said-i-don-t-think-the-gods-will-even-know-what-to-do/)

[Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/)

> [The gods know what's important, what's wrong about you. They know everything. If you go out searching for the Holy Grail, they won't let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-spanbauer/the-gods-know-what-s-important-what-s-wrong-about-you-they-know/)

[Tom Spanbauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-spanbauer/)

> [When Christ said: "I was hungry and you fed me," he didn't mean only the hunger for bread and for food; he also meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/when-christ-said-i-was-hungry-and-you-fed-me-he-didn-t-mean-only-the/)

[Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/)

> [If I am the pawn of the gods, it is because they know me so well, not because they make my mind up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/if-i-am-the-pawn-of-the-gods-it-is-because-they-know-me-so-well-not/)

[Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/)

> [Our souls are but leaves in a storm, and only the gods know where we will come to rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/our-souls-are-but-leaves-in-a-storm-and-only-the-gods-know-where-we/)

[David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/)

> [... where there was hunger there would also be bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-marshall/where-there-was-hunger-there-would-also-be-bread/)

[Catherine Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-marshall/)

> [à The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-hunger-for-love-is-much-more-difficult-to-remove-than-the-hunger/)

[Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/)

> [“And what makes us human is that sometimes we snap. And in that moment of release we're closer to gods than we know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/and-what-makes-us-human-is-that-sometimes-we-snap-and-in-that-moment/)

[Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/)

> [I hunger for the bread of God, the flesh of Jesus Christ ...; I long to drink of his blood, the gift of unending love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/i-hunger-for-the-bread-of-god-the-flesh-of-jesus-christ-i-long-to/)

[Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/)

> [If you expect a bad lie for even one second, the gods will know it and give you a bad lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-wie/if-you-expect-a-bad-lie-for-even-one-second-the-gods-will-know-it-and/)

[Michelle Wie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-wie/)

> [The gods alone know, what kind of wife a man will have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/the-gods-alone-know-what-kind-of-wife-a-man-will-have/)

[Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/)

## More by William Shakespeare

> [Let us kill all lawyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-kill-all-lawyers/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Divers philosophers hold that the lips is parcel of the mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/divers-philosophers-hold-that-the-lips-is-parcel-of-the-mouth/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies Which busy care draws in the brains of men; Therefore thou sleep’st so sound. Julius Caesar (2.1.248-251)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thou-hast-no-figures-nor-no-fantasies-which-busy-care-draws-in-the/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Have you not heard it said full oft, A woman's nay doth stand for naught?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/have-you-not-heard-it-said-full-oft-a-woman-s-nay-doth-stand-for/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Omittance is no quittance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/omittance-is-no-quittance/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [“Yes, madam: yet I cannot choose but laugh, To think it should leave crying and say 'Ay.' And yet, I warrant, it had upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/yes-madam-yet-i-cannot-choose-but-laugh-to-think-it-should-leave/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-take-thee-at-thy-word-call-me-but-love-and-i-ll-be-new-baptized/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

[Explore all 5,604 William Shakespeare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

## More Hunger quotes

> [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/)

[Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/)

> [“if you cannot control your hunger and appetite, good luck managing your blood chemistry, metabolism, waistline, and, in the bigger picture, the prospect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/if-you-cannot-control-your-hunger-and-appetite-good-luck-managing/)

[David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/)

> [If people should ever start to do only what is necessary millions would die of hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/if-people-should-ever-start-to-do-only-what-is-necessary-millions/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/)

Chaz Brenchley

> [Hundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-kung/hundreds-of-millions-of-human-beings-on-our-planet-increasingly/)

[Hans Kung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-kung/)

> [I was focused on The Hunger Games movie with my director, with the studio, and with the cast and crew. We all just focused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-jacobson/i-was-focused-on-the-hunger-games-movie-with-my-director-with-the/)

[Nina Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-jacobson/)

> [You get those hunger pains. 'I am so hungry. We don't have any food. What are we going to eat?' Your stomach hurts. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mclemore/you-get-those-hunger-pains-i-am-so-hungry-we-don-t-have-any-food-what/)

[Ben McLemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mclemore/)

> ['The Hunger Games' takes place in Panem, a country which is part of America. It's post-apocalyptic. There's been a global war. The Panem country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-hemsworth/the-hunger-games-takes-place-in-panem-a-country-which-is-part-of/)

[Liam Hemsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-hemsworth/)

> [When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/when-it-comes-to-having-a-central-nervous-system-and-the-ability-to/)

[Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/)

> [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/)

[Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/)

> [“This, then, was hunger. This was what his mother had meant when she had said, "We'll all go hongry." He had laughed, for he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/this-then-was-hunger-this-was-what-his-mother-had-meant-when-she-had/)

[Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/)

> [We did a 'Vanity Fair' spread for 'The Hunger Games,' and we were on set, and I saw a little head pop up from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-ludwig/we-did-a-vanity-fair-spread-for-the-hunger-games-and-we-were-on-set/)

[Alexander Ludwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-ludwig/)

> [Sometimes I close my eyes; sometimes I let my hunger rise. I think of all you are - you are the love of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemis-khan/sometimes-i-close-my-eyes-sometimes-i-let-my-hunger-rise-i-think-of/)

[Kemis Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemis-khan/)

> [Throwing a McDouble in the air at a fat camp and shouting, LET THE HUNGER GAMES BEGIN!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/throwing-a-mcdouble-in-the-air-at-a-fat-camp-and-shouting-let-the/)

[Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/)

> [Hunger makes a thief of any man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/hunger-makes-a-thief-of-any-man/)

[Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/)

[Browse all 2,576 Hunger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“For the gods know I speak this in hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Shakespeare"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/for-the-gods-know-i-speak-this-in-hunger-for-bread-not-in-thirst-for/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Hunger"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/for-the-gods-know-i-speak-this-in-hunger-for-bread-not-in-thirst-for/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/william-shakespeare-4_hunger_for-the-gods-know-i-speak-this-in-hunger_367616.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/william-shakespeare-4_hunger_for-the-gods-know-i-speak-this-in-hunger_367616.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0f/william-shakespeare-4_hunger_for-the-gods-know-i-speak-this-in-hunger_367616.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“For the gods know I speak this in hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge” — William Shakespeare",
                "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": "William Shakespeare",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“For the gods know I speak...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/for-the-gods-know-i-speak-this-in-hunger-for-bread-not-in-thirst-for/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/for-the-gods-know-i-speak-this-in-hunger-for-bread-not-in-thirst-for/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
