One murder made a villain,
Millions a hero. Princes were privileged
To kill, and numbers sanctified the crime.

Another quote →

Source, in full

Line 154. Compare: "One to destroy is murder by the law, And gibbets keep the lifted hand in awe; To murder thousands takes a specious name, War’s glorious art, and gives immortal fame", Edward Young, "Love of Fame", Satire vii, line 55.

Topics

More quotes by Beilby Porteus

All Beilby Porteus quotes →

You may also like

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Beilby Porteus (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.