What causes a person to seek revenge?
Sarah Oconnor
Updated on April 30, 2026
People are motivated to seek revenge — to harm someone who has harmed them — when they feel attacked, mistreated or socially rejected. Getting an eye for an eye, Old Testament-style, is thought to bring a sense of catharsis and closure. Evolutionary psychologists believe we are hard-wired for revenge.
Who said revenge best served cold?
diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
The French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754–1838) has been credited with the saying, “La vengeance est un met que l’on doit manger froid” [“Revenge is a dish that must be eaten cold”], albeit without supporting detail.
Who is a vengeance person?
A vengeful person is out for revenge. The word vengeful is used to describe the feelings of revenge someone has toward another person or group who has done them wrong in the past.
What is another word for seeking revenge?
Synonym Study In this page you can discover 108 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for revenge, like: avenge, vindictiveness, retaliation, requite, breathe vengeance, ill will, requital, retaliate, hate, revanche and return of evil for evil.
Should you dig two graves to seek revenge?
So before you embark on your own journey of revenge, you should definitely consider this. What Confucius meant by that saying that you should dig two graves, really should resonate with you. Keep in mind that you’re dooming yourself along with whoever it is that you’re seeking revenge against.
Who said “dig two graves”?
In the Stork: “Before you seek Revenge with someone be sure and dig two graves.” In 1957 a letter to the editor of a newspaper in Albany, Oregon implausibly credited the ancient Greek sage Socrates: 8 It is fair to quote Socrates, “He that would take revenge better dig two graves,” . . . In 1968 Walter Winchell revisited the saying in his column.
Who said before you embark on a journey of revenge?
It was Confucius who said it. He stated that, “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” Now, I was sitting here and thinking about this quote and its meaning to me. I was thinking about it because of something that recently happened in my life.
What does Confucius Say about digging two graves?
In the Book 2 of the Analects of Confucius (《论语·为政篇第二》), the Master said, to attack a task from the wrong end can do nothing but harm(攻乎异端,斯害也已). And this quotation is open to a variety of interpretations, so it can be also translated that Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.