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"To rise above monsters, we have to abandon our humanity. That's the irony, really. If you can't let it go, it's not worth holding onto."
— Armin Arlert, Attack on Titan
No matter how strong, for a human to fight a monster means he has submerged his humanity and transformed himself into a greater monster.
— Schierke, Berserk
Dragons are dragons because humans can't beat 'em. So what's a man who beats a dragon?
— Godo, upon Guts acquiring the Dragonslayer, Berserk
Yours is a black path through the night. When you confront those who lurk in the darkness, you also envelop yourself in it.
— The Skull Knight, Berserk
Awakened Being: You know... You're the monster... Here...
Ophelia: Heh. (kills the Awakened Being)
Ophelia: Heh. (kills the Awakened Being)
— Claymore
What right do I have to stop someone from taking vengeance? But still, I shudder to think what kind of world a man held captive by his own hate would create... once he becomes its ruler.
— Scar to a vengeance-obsessed Roy Mustang, Fullmetal Alchemist
Imagine one day your home is suddenly attacked by monsters. They swagger into your village like it belongs to them. They kill your friends, they kill your family, they loot your home.
Imagine that they assault your sister. They torture her, they rape her, they kill her. They desecrate the bodies of your family, do whatever they want, cackling all the while. And you see it all from where you're hidden, trying not to breathe.
How could you ever let that go?
So you get a weapon, you train yourself, you learn, you grow. Everything you do is to help you take revenge. You search them out, hunt them down, you fight, you attack, and you kill them and kill them and kill them and kill them.
Sometimes things go well, and sometimes they don't. But each time you ask — how will I kill them next time? What's the best way to kill them? Day after day, month after month, that is all you think about.
When you get a chance, of course you test every idea you have. And when you've been doing all that long enough....
You start to enjoy it.
Imagine that they assault your sister. They torture her, they rape her, they kill her. They desecrate the bodies of your family, do whatever they want, cackling all the while. And you see it all from where you're hidden, trying not to breathe.
How could you ever let that go?
So you get a weapon, you train yourself, you learn, you grow. Everything you do is to help you take revenge. You search them out, hunt them down, you fight, you attack, and you kill them and kill them and kill them and kill them.
Sometimes things go well, and sometimes they don't. But each time you ask — how will I kill them next time? What's the best way to kill them? Day after day, month after month, that is all you think about.
When you get a chance, of course you test every idea you have. And when you've been doing all that long enough....
You start to enjoy it.
All monsters are called "monsters". As they cannot be defeated by "people". And to defeat what has surpassed human intellect, is outside the capacity of human achievement. The moment you decide to defeat Godzilla, you're aspiring to become something that is no longer human, Haruo.
— Mulu-Elu Galu-Gu, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle
Right. I'm a devil now. No going back, I guess. No. Maybe it's a good thing? Yeah. I mean, if God is dead, then my whole life has basically been a waste? But... is it really okay to debate myself and live as a devil, the things I once fought against?
— Xenovia Quarta, High School D×D
Knuckle Joe: He wasn't a father. He was a weakling.
Meta Knight: Good. I am glad. That way, he will not have to see what a monster you have become.
Knuckle Joe: What? I am not a monster!
Meta Knight: Anyone who abandons his reason, and lives only by hatred, is a monster.
Knuckle Joe: Grrr...
Tiff: Knuckle Joe... What we do makes us all monsters. And now, look what you did to Kirby.
Knuckle Joe: But I am not a monster!
Meta Knight: But you lived by hatred. And hatred is what [Nightmare] loves.
Meta Knight: Good. I am glad. That way, he will not have to see what a monster you have become.
Knuckle Joe: What? I am not a monster!
Meta Knight: Anyone who abandons his reason, and lives only by hatred, is a monster.
Knuckle Joe: Grrr...
Tiff: Knuckle Joe... What we do makes us all monsters. And now, look what you did to Kirby.
Knuckle Joe: But I am not a monster!
Meta Knight: But you lived by hatred. And hatred is what [Nightmare] loves.
— Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Episode 19/17
Nah. I'd say it's more a case of a straightforward, honest guy being twisted into a monster by the pressures of society. You know, the old become-the-very-thing-you're-trying-to-fight deal.
— Haruna, Negima! Magister Negi Magi
Kill the spiders and save the butterflies... it's rational until you realize that by striving for it, you become a spider yourself.
— Vash the Stampede, Trigun
Audio Plays
Commandant Harlan: You avoid the issue while the rest of us have to make a stand. We are the ones in the right. Gallifrey must prevail. At any cost.
The Doctor: That is what terrifies me. That certainty. You start believing only in absolutes. Well, isn't that exactly who you're fighting?
The Doctor: That is what terrifies me. That certainty. You start believing only in absolutes. Well, isn't that exactly who you're fighting?
— Big Finish Doctor Who, "The Conscript"
Comic Books
I'm afraid that the Joker may be right about me. Sometimes I.... question the rationality of my actions. And I'm afraid that when I walk through those asylum gates... when I walk into Arkham and the doors close behind me... It'll be just like coming home.
Who could have foreseen this in their wildest imaginings? Of all the Green Lanterns, of all the protectors of the universe... it is their brightest who turns rogue.
— Sinestro, Green Lantern #49
We came because we heard a monster was loose in our sector. It's our job to clean up the monsters. So. Do what you gotta do. Put people on trial. Punish them how you like. But watch out you don't turn into monsters. Because then we'd be back for you.
— Guy Gardner, Red Daughter of Krypton
We're going about this the wrong way, all of us! After countless centuries of fighting... the Autobots are a step away from what we were when all this started. And us — the Decepticons have become something worse than any of us could have imagined.
— Drift, Transformers Spotlight: Drift
We stopped checking for monsters under our bed, when we realized they were inside us.
— The Joker, Batman
Fan Works
They gazed into the Abyss and now it lives inside them.
— Fuyutsuki, Children of an Elder God
"HE GOING TO KILL US" said the demons
"I will shoot at him" said the cyberdemon and he fired the rocket missiles. John plasmaed at him and tried to blew him up. But then the ceiling fell and they were trapped and not able to kill.
"No! I must kill the demons" he shouted
The radio said "No, John. You are the demons"
And Then John Was a Zombie.
"I will shoot at him" said the cyberdemon and he fired the rocket missiles. John plasmaed at him and tried to blew him up. But then the ceiling fell and they were trapped and not able to kill.
"No! I must kill the demons" he shouted
The radio said "No, John. You are the demons"
And Then John Was a Zombie.
You know, as pissed as I am with Raiden and everything he's done, I feel sorry for him. He didn't ask to be corrupted. He was willing to die to save Earthrealm by purifying the Jinsei and now he's the bad guy. That isn't fair. If this is what he gets for being a hero, maybe he should've died instead. When I was talking to Cassie yesterday, she mentioned a phrase she heard in a movie a few years ago: You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. She said she thought it was stupid until she saw what Raiden did and I'm pretty inclined to agree with her.
— Kung Jin to Taven about Raiden's Face–Heel Turn, Mortal Kombat: Desperation
A Hunter must always be careful lest they become as corrupt as the very beasts they slew.
Film — Animated
Red Hood: Just be happy I only killed one of them. They're all assassins.
Batman: And what are you?
Red Hood: I'm cleaning up Gotham. More than you ever did.
Batman: You're stealing territory from Black Mask and killing anyone who gets in your way.
Red Hood: Black Mask is just a part of the plan.
Batman: Plan? You're becoming a crime lord.
Red Hood: Yes. You can't stop crime. That's what you never understood. I'm controlling it. You wanna rule them by fear. But what do you do with the ones who aren't afraid? I'm doing what you won't: I'm taking them out!
Batman: And what are you?
Red Hood: I'm cleaning up Gotham. More than you ever did.
Batman: You're stealing territory from Black Mask and killing anyone who gets in your way.
Red Hood: Black Mask is just a part of the plan.
Batman: Plan? You're becoming a crime lord.
Red Hood: Yes. You can't stop crime. That's what you never understood. I'm controlling it. You wanna rule them by fear. But what do you do with the ones who aren't afraid? I'm doing what you won't: I'm taking them out!
Batman: [about Jason] Do you remember how he was when I found him?
Alfred: Of course, sir. Fearless, arrogant, brash and gifted.
Batman: Yes. Different than Dick in so many ways, but still so full of potential and power. But I knew, even from the beginning, he was dangerous. If I hadn't made him into Robin, he would have grown to do wrong. Then I got him killed. My partner. My soldier. My fault. I own that. I'll carry that like everything else. But now there's this. He's taken everything I've ever taught him and turned it on me. It's a hell of my own making, Alfred.
Alfred: Sir, this is not your doing. You loved him. He knows that. It should be enough.
Batman: It's not.
Alfred: Of course, sir. Fearless, arrogant, brash and gifted.
Batman: Yes. Different than Dick in so many ways, but still so full of potential and power. But I knew, even from the beginning, he was dangerous. If I hadn't made him into Robin, he would have grown to do wrong. Then I got him killed. My partner. My soldier. My fault. I own that. I'll carry that like everything else. But now there's this. He's taken everything I've ever taught him and turned it on me. It's a hell of my own making, Alfred.
Alfred: Sir, this is not your doing. You loved him. He knows that. It should be enough.
Batman: It's not.
Jason Todd: Is that what you think this is about? That you let me die? I don't know what clouds your judgement worse, your guilt or your antiquated sense of morality. Bruce, I forgive you for not saving me. But why... why on God's earth... [smashes closet door open to reveal the Joker, bloodied and tied to a chair] ...is he still alive?!
Joker: [awakes and looks at both Jason and Batman, and then starts to laugh as he bounces over in the chair] Gotta give the boy points! He came all the way back from the dead to make this shindig happen! So, who's got a camera? Ooh! Ooh! Get one of me and the kid first. Then you and me, then the three of us, and then one with the crowbar! Then—
Jason Todd: [knocking the Joker down and holding a gun to his head] You'll be as quiet as possible, or I'll put one in your lap first.
Joker: Party pooper. No cake for you!
Jason Todd: [to Batman] Ignoring what he's done in the past. Blindly, stupidly disregarding the entire graveyards he's filled, the thousands who have suffered, the friends he's crippled. You know, I thought... I thought I'd be the last person you'd ever let him hurt. If it had been you that he beat to a bloody pulp, if he had taken you from this world, I would've done nothing but search the planet for this pathetic pile of evil, death-worshiping garbage... and sent him off to hell!
Batman: You don't understand. I don't think you've ever understood.
Jason Todd: What? What, your moral code just won't allow for that? It's too hard to cross that line?
Batman: No! God Almighty, no. It'd be too damned easy. All I've ever wanted to do is kill him. A day doesn't go by when I don't think about subjecting him to every horrendous torture he's dealt out to others and then... end him.
Joker: Awwww! So you do think about me!
Batman: But if I do that, if I allow myself to go down into that place... I'll never come back.
Jason Todd: ...Why? I'm not talking about killing Penguin, or Scarecrow, or Dent. I'm talking about him. Just him. And doing it because... Because he took me away from you.
Batman: I can't. I'm sorry.
Joker: That is so sweet.
Jason Todd: Well, you won't have a choice. [throws Batman a second gun]
Batman: I won't—
Jason Todd: This is what it's all been about. This! You, and me, and him! Now is the time you decide! [turns his gun on Joker] If you won't kill this psychotic piece of filth, I will! If you wanna stop me, you're gonna have to kill me!
Batman: You know I won't—
Jason Todd: I'm gonna blow his deranged brains out! And if you want to stop it, you are going to have to shoot me, right in my face!
Joker: This is turning out even better than I'd hoped.\\ [Batman drops the gun]
Jason Todd: It's him, or me! You have to decide! Decide, NOW! DO IT! HIM, OR ME! DECIDE! [points a gun at Batman]
Joker: [awakes and looks at both Jason and Batman, and then starts to laugh as he bounces over in the chair] Gotta give the boy points! He came all the way back from the dead to make this shindig happen! So, who's got a camera? Ooh! Ooh! Get one of me and the kid first. Then you and me, then the three of us, and then one with the crowbar! Then—
Jason Todd: [knocking the Joker down and holding a gun to his head] You'll be as quiet as possible, or I'll put one in your lap first.
Joker: Party pooper. No cake for you!
Jason Todd: [to Batman] Ignoring what he's done in the past. Blindly, stupidly disregarding the entire graveyards he's filled, the thousands who have suffered, the friends he's crippled. You know, I thought... I thought I'd be the last person you'd ever let him hurt. If it had been you that he beat to a bloody pulp, if he had taken you from this world, I would've done nothing but search the planet for this pathetic pile of evil, death-worshiping garbage... and sent him off to hell!
Batman: You don't understand. I don't think you've ever understood.
Jason Todd: What? What, your moral code just won't allow for that? It's too hard to cross that line?
Batman: No! God Almighty, no. It'd be too damned easy. All I've ever wanted to do is kill him. A day doesn't go by when I don't think about subjecting him to every horrendous torture he's dealt out to others and then... end him.
Joker: Awwww! So you do think about me!
Batman: But if I do that, if I allow myself to go down into that place... I'll never come back.
Jason Todd: ...Why? I'm not talking about killing Penguin, or Scarecrow, or Dent. I'm talking about him. Just him. And doing it because... Because he took me away from you.
Batman: I can't. I'm sorry.
Joker: That is so sweet.
Jason Todd: Well, you won't have a choice. [throws Batman a second gun]
Batman: I won't—
Jason Todd: This is what it's all been about. This! You, and me, and him! Now is the time you decide! [turns his gun on Joker] If you won't kill this psychotic piece of filth, I will! If you wanna stop me, you're gonna have to kill me!
Batman: You know I won't—
Jason Todd: I'm gonna blow his deranged brains out! And if you want to stop it, you are going to have to shoot me, right in my face!
Joker: This is turning out even better than I'd hoped.\\ [Batman drops the gun]
Jason Todd: It's him, or me! You have to decide! Decide, NOW! DO IT! HIM, OR ME! DECIDE! [points a gun at Batman]
The Witch: I'll make you suffer!
Norman: Why?
The Witch: Because... Because…
Norman: Because you want everyone to hurt just as much as you are. So whenever you wake up, you play this mean game, but you don't play fair!
The Witch: They hurt me!
Norman: So you hurt them back?
The Witch: I wanted everyone to see how rotten they were!
Norman: You're just like them, Agatha!
The Witch: No, I'm not!
Norman: You're a bully.
The Witch: No, I'm not!
Norman: They did something awful, but that doesn't mean you should too! All that's left of you now is mean and horrible!
Norman: Why?
The Witch: Because... Because…
Norman: Because you want everyone to hurt just as much as you are. So whenever you wake up, you play this mean game, but you don't play fair!
The Witch: They hurt me!
Norman: So you hurt them back?
The Witch: I wanted everyone to see how rotten they were!
Norman: You're just like them, Agatha!
The Witch: No, I'm not!
Norman: You're a bully.
The Witch: No, I'm not!
Norman: They did something awful, but that doesn't mean you should too! All that's left of you now is mean and horrible!
Two years have now passed, Chirin has changed from a determined lamb, into a fearsome beast.
— The Narrator, Ringing Bell
"You can't fight crime by becoming a criminal."
—Batman to Damian Wayne, Son of Batman
Film — Live-Action
You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that. But you have no right to judge me. It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror... horror has a face. And you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies.
— Col. Walter E. Kurtz, Apocalypse Now
You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
— Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight
Mace Windu: I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi. The Dark Side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor.
Ki-Adi-Mundi: If he does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous, then he should be removed from office.
Windu: The Jedi Council would have to take control of the Senate to ensure a peaceful transition.
Yoda: (horrified that a coup has become a reasonable suggestion) To a dark place this line of thought will carry us. Great care we must take.
Ki-Adi-Mundi: If he does not give up his emergency powers after the destruction of Grievous, then he should be removed from office.
Windu: The Jedi Council would have to take control of the Senate to ensure a peaceful transition.
Yoda: (horrified that a coup has become a reasonable suggestion) To a dark place this line of thought will carry us. Great care we must take.
You have allowed this dark lord to twist your mind until now... until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy.
— Obi-Wan Kenobi, Revenge of the Sith, to Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader.
Revenge is like a poison. It can — it can take you over… and before you know it, turn us into something ugly.
— Aunt May, Spider-Man 3
How long can any man fight the darkness before he finds it in himself?
— Spider-Man 3 teaser trailer
Any longer out on that road and I'm one of them, a terminal psychotic, except that I've got this bronze badge that says that I'm one of the good guys.
— Max Rockatansky, Mad Max
Have you ever had to kill a man, Max? Have you? To pull that trigger, you have to be sure. Yes, you investigate, analyze, assess, target, but then you have to look him in the eye and you make the call. And all the drones, bugs, cameras, transcripts, all the surveillance in the world can't tell you what to do next. A license to kill, is also a license not to kill.
— M to C, Spectre
"There will always be those who mean to do us harm. To stop them, we risk awakening the same evil within ourselves. Our first instinct is to seek revenge when those we love are taken from us."
—'Captain James T. Kirk, Star Trek Into Darkness
T'Challa: You want to see us become just like the people you hate so much! Divide and conquer the land as they did!
Killmonger: Nah, I learned from my enemies! I beat 'em at their own game!
T'Challa: You have become them! You would destroy the world, Wakanda included!
Killmonger: Nah, I learned from my enemies! I beat 'em at their own game!
T'Challa: You have become them! You would destroy the world, Wakanda included!
"Evil wakes in vengeance. Be careful what you choose."
—Dahlia Gillespie, Silent Hill
V: What was done to me was monstrous.
Evey Hammond: And they created a monster.
Evey Hammond: And they created a monster.
"We can't prevent evil by doing evil!"
—Father Kovak, End of Days
"Nietzsche only had it half-right: He who fights monsters must become one himself, or be one to start with, otherwise you're just gonna get your ass kicked. That's the fundamental problem with trying to draw the line between good and evil. The real choice is between predator and prey, no matter which side of the line you want to side on. It may not be right, it may not be fair, but then again neither is life."
—Jake Greyman, Demon Hunter (2005)
"Men fall from the sky, the gods hurl thunderbolts, innocents die. That's how it starts, sir. The fever, the rage, the feeling of powerlessness that turns good men... cruel."
—Alfred Pennyworth, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Literature
The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
— Closing line of Animal Farm
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things.
— Paul, The Bible (New International Version), Romans 2:1
"Fool that I am," said he, "that I did not tear out my heart the day I resolved to revenge myself."
One should not confuse striking at evil and doing good, lest good become the act of striking.
— Book of All Things, A Practical Guide to Evil
Maybe [Tarik] was a good man once. But you fight any war long enough and in the end it's going to be hard to remember who you are. He's had too much blood. And maybe too much sand. I'd say he's become everything he set out to defeat.
— Richard, Oblivion
"Justice." Thoros smiled wanly. "I remember justice. It had a pleasant taste. Justice was what we were about when Beric led us, or so we told ourselves. We were King's men, knights, and heroes... but some knights are dark and full of terror, my lady. War makes monsters of us all.
"Are you saying you are monsters?
"I am saying we are human."
"Are you saying you are monsters?
"I am saying we are human."
"That jive sucker doesn't care who's evil. He just puts a bullet into anybody the fuzz can't catch. He's worse than anybody he puts down, you know."
— Neon Rider on Judgement, I Did NOT Give That Spider Superhuman Intelligence!
Tattletale: It doesn't have to be you.
Skitter: No. I think it does.
Calvert: So it comes down to this... you're not a killer.
Skitter: No... but I suppose, in a roundabout way, you made me into one.
Skitter: No. I think it does.
Calvert: So it comes down to this... you're not a killer.
Skitter: No... but I suppose, in a roundabout way, you made me into one.
— Worm
But what can such analysis as I have done of scriptures and poetry suggest about some critical tools and ideals for Mormon literature, past and future? Can we see how the complexities of being chosen and writing for a chosen people have enriched our literature, or have I simply created another set of labels with which to pigeonhole what we don't like, a dichotomy for Mormon critics—and critics of Mormon critics—to argue about?
We see our cities crumble under the enemy's bombs, and we mourn for our children struck at their early tasks by the enemy's bullets, and we strike back, cruelly and wildly from the seabed of our hatred, at his cities and his children. The enemy is more savage than the tiger, hungrier than the shark, crueler than the wolf; in honor and in defense of our moderate way of life, we stand up to him and combat him, but in doing so, we out-tiger him, out-shark the shark, over-wolf the wolf. Will we at the end of all this then pretend to ourselves that the victory is ours? The thing we defend perishes from our victory as it would never perish from our defeat.
— The Young Lions
Jake: Cassie, what are you saying? You engineered a blast that must have killed hundreds of refugees, the very people the EF is trying to help? That makes you a terrorist! How can you possibly justify that?
Future!Cassie: In a war, Jake, anything is justified. I'm not a kid anymore. I'm not concerned with the nonsense I used to be.
Jake: Like life and peace? You think that's nonsense now? Don't you remember our last mission — the Ragsin Building battle? The comedown? You needed to talk when we got out and I turned you away. Just didn't want to deal with it. I was an idiot that night, Cassie. You were on target with your doubts, just like you always were. You have to realize that.
Future!Cassie: You're talking about a different lifetime, Jake. There were so many missions back then. All just a pitiful blur of youthful idealism. You don't get it, do you? I'm saying that I finally understand war.
— Animorphs #41: The Familiar
"The Brookland business was a mistake, as it turns out. But I had no hesitation in arranging it. And if you are going to succeed in this job, Mrs Jones — my job — then there will come a time when you will have to do the same. Of course, you know that. You know the sort of decisions I've had to make. But I wonder if you know what it's like to live with them? A German philosopher once wrote that he who fights monsters must take care that he doesn't become one himself. Our work is often monstrous. I'm afraid there's no escaping it."
— Alan Blunt, Alex Rider: Scorpia Rising
"You will hurt the ones you love the most, and become what you hate to save what you love."
— Maric, quoting Flemeth, The Stolen Throne
Live-Action TV
Londo: I have noticed that your own people have continued to exploit your planet's resources to build the mighty Narn war machine?
G'kar: We have to protect ourselves!
Londo: By doing to yourselves what you say we did to you! Ah, now there's evolution for you!
G'kar: We have to protect ourselves!
Londo: By doing to yourselves what you say we did to you! Ah, now there's evolution for you!
And what about my team? How many more times will they be able to look into the abyss? How many more times before they won't ever recover the pieces of themselves that this job takes?
— Aaron Hotchner, Criminal Minds, "...And Back" (season four finale)
The Doctor: The Daleks have failed. Now finish what I started and make your race extinct. Rid the universe of your filth! WHY DON'T YOU JUST DIE?!
Dalek: ...You would make a good Dalek.
Dalek: ...You would make a good Dalek.
You're here because John Mostow stole three years of your life. Every day and every night, for three years, you lived and breathed the horror show that was in his head, and I'm sorry. Imagining everything that he imagined. Sinking deeper and deeper into the ugliness like you taught us to do. When you finally caught him, it didn't just go away. And the violence... it stayed alive inside you. 'Til it had to come out.
— Fox Mulder, The X-Files "Grotesque"
Revenge is never good. It kills the soul and poisons it.
— Don Ramón, El Chavo del ocho
Men of war have long known that warriors must often abandon those verities they defend: peace, human kindness, love... for they hold no meaning to the enemy. And so, to win, do we become what we despise... and despise what we become?
— The Control Voice, The Outer Limits (1995), "Quality of Mercy"
Kate: "Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster".
Alice: I'm afraid that passage wasn't in the one book I was allowed to read.
Kate: Someone once said it to me.
Alice: How did that work out?
Kate: He became a monster.
Alice: I'm afraid that passage wasn't in the one book I was allowed to read.
Kate: Someone once said it to me.
Alice: How did that work out?
Kate: He became a monster.
— Batwoman (2019), "Through The Looking Glass"
Lonni: And what do you sacrifice?
Luthen: Calm. Kindness. Kinship. Love. I've given up all chance at inner peace. I've made my mind a sunless space. I share my dreams with ghosts. I wake up every day to an equation I wrote 15 years ago from which there's only one conclusion, I'm damned for what I do. My anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my eagerness to fight, they've set me on a path from which there is no escape. I yearned to be a savior against injustice without contemplating the cost and by the time I looked down there was no longer any ground beneath my feet. What is my sacrifice? I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude. So what do I sacrifice? EVERYTHING!
Luthen: Calm. Kindness. Kinship. Love. I've given up all chance at inner peace. I've made my mind a sunless space. I share my dreams with ghosts. I wake up every day to an equation I wrote 15 years ago from which there's only one conclusion, I'm damned for what I do. My anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my eagerness to fight, they've set me on a path from which there is no escape. I yearned to be a savior against injustice without contemplating the cost and by the time I looked down there was no longer any ground beneath my feet. What is my sacrifice? I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude. So what do I sacrifice? EVERYTHING!
— Andor, "One Way Out"
"You're using the power of other Kamen Riders to oppress humanity... that arrogance is unforgivable! My master valued these feelings, then you've become the very same evil he despised the most!"
—Brain after he shields Kamen Rider Ark-Zero from the alternate Yuto Sakurai/Kamen Rider Zein, Kamen Rider Outsiders ("Crazy Time and Zein's Identity")
Music
I was born of the womb of a poisonous spell
Beaten and broken and chased from the land
But I rise up above it, high up above it and see
I was hung from the tree made of tongues of the weak
The branches, the bones of the liars, the thieves
Rise up above it, high up above it and see
Pray to your God, open your heart
Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil's inside
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh
Blessed by a bitch from a bastard's seed
Pleasure to meet you, prepare to bleed
Rise, I'll rise, I'll rise
Skinned her alive, ripped her apart
Scattered her ashes, buried her heart
Rise up above it, high up above it and see
Beaten and broken and chased from the land
But I rise up above it, high up above it and see
I was hung from the tree made of tongues of the weak
The branches, the bones of the liars, the thieves
Rise up above it, high up above it and see
Pray to your God, open your heart
Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil's inside
One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh
Blessed by a bitch from a bastard's seed
Pleasure to meet you, prepare to bleed
Rise, I'll rise, I'll rise
Skinned her alive, ripped her apart
Scattered her ashes, buried her heart
Rise up above it, high up above it and see
All my enemies are becoming my teachers.
— Alexander, "Truth"
We always start with good intentions
But lose ourselves along the way.
But lose ourselves along the way.
— Nothing More, "This Is The Time (Ballast)"
"Grab the bull by the horns", the old adage goes
Nobody tells you where to go from there
Seems like fate's pulling you
Decisions have to be made
The best path is the hardest earned
Back and forth the struggle consumes us all
Trying to keep a level head
In the most unsettling of times
Today I'll become the bull.
Nobody tells you where to go from there
Seems like fate's pulling you
Decisions have to be made
The best path is the hardest earned
Back and forth the struggle consumes us all
Trying to keep a level head
In the most unsettling of times
Today I'll become the bull.
So far forever now alone, a greater punishment on me has been imposed
A killer falling from the light, I'll miss my family, I'll never be alright
A killer falling from the light, I'll miss my family, I'll never be alright
In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not I'd become my enemy
In the instant that I preach
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not I'd become my enemy
In the instant that I preach
— Bob Dylan, "My Back Pages"
Nothing ever stops all these thoughts and the pain attached to them
Sometimes I wonder why this is happening
It's like nothing I could do will distract me when
I think of how I shot myself in the back again
'Cause from the infinite words I could say
I put all the pain you gave to me on display
But didn't realize instead of setting it free,
I took what I hated and made it a part of me
It never goes away...
Sometimes I wonder why this is happening
It's like nothing I could do will distract me when
I think of how I shot myself in the back again
'Cause from the infinite words I could say
I put all the pain you gave to me on display
But didn't realize instead of setting it free,
I took what I hated and made it a part of me
It never goes away...
—Linkin Park, "Figure.09"
Stop!
I wanna go home.
Take off this uniform
And leave the show.
But I'm waiting in this cell
Because I have to know
Have I been guilty all this time?
I wanna go home.
Take off this uniform
And leave the show.
But I'm waiting in this cell
Because I have to know
Have I been guilty all this time?
If you stare into the dark, the dark will stare back
back into your SOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUL!
back into your SOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUL!
— Radiohead, "Bangers and Mash"
I rambled with the worst of them, fell in love with a harlequin
Saw the darkest hearts of men
And I saw myself staring back again
Saw the darkest hearts of men
And I saw myself staring back again
— The Silent Comedy, "Bartholomew"
They say that what you mock
Will surely overtake you
And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you
Will surely overtake you
And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you
I'm about to do it your way
I will make your world unsafe
I never thought you'd get this far
It's insane
I will make your world unsafe
I never thought you'd get this far
It's insane
Cold thrill squeezes Your heart
A touch of the unknown
Fire burning in the chest
Incinerates Your soul...
A touch of the unknown
Fire burning in the chest
Incinerates Your soul...
Burning horizon and the Black Eye
Like a dominating Sun
The Abyss ever-lusting
Fear turns into hate
You are screaming and falling
Wings of fire melting the flesh
Alone in this suffering
Pain and pride exploding... FOREVER!
Like a dominating Sun
The Abyss ever-lusting
Fear turns into hate
You are screaming and falling
Wings of fire melting the flesh
Alone in this suffering
Pain and pride exploding... FOREVER!
In my eye
Ocuius dei
Pain and fire
In blackened Sun
I see your soul
I feel your awe
Constant doubts?
Ocuius dei
Pain and fire
In blackened Sun
I see your soul
I feel your awe
Constant doubts?
Or certitude of fall...
Tabletop Games
Let my fate be a warning to all who employ the powers of the psyker. It is a quick and powerful path to achieving your goals, but always beware of the temptations of radicalism. To follow this dangerous route is to care not that the very powers you are using my be corrupting you insidiously from within. The heretic Quixos, may his name be cursed a thousand times for a thousand years, fell in this way; not in one dark revelation, but slowly, in small steps that he justified by the results he was achieving. Always be aware of the dangers inherent in the powers you use. Be sober and careful, responsible and solemn, for such abilities are not to be taken lightly and should never be trusted.
I can tell you no more this day, but take what I have said, never forget it and never allow yourself to become that which we seek to destroy. Take a good look at the man sitting next to you and know that if you fall, it may well be he who hunts you down and kills you.
I can tell you no more this day, but take what I have said, never forget it and never allow yourself to become that which we seek to destroy. Take a good look at the man sitting next to you and know that if you fall, it may well be he who hunts you down and kills you.
— Inquisitor Marchant to a class of noviciates, Warhammer 40,000
As the invasion drew closer, Urza's means began to resemble Phyrexia's end.
Once, they were dedicated to cleansing Creation of imperfections, but they were carried away by their bloodlust and zeal. Killing became the answer to every problem, and soon it began to be fun for its own sake. Now these mages are the embodiment of Black Magick, living caricatures of the "Good Death" and its adherents. Blood rites, necromancy and exquisite torture have become fine sciences in Helekar's halls, and the Grand Harvester of Souls has begun to take his job a bit too seriously...
—Mage: The Ascension — Tales of Magick: Dark Adventure
Th' worst monsters bring out th' monster in you.
—Chrono-Ranger, Sentinels of the Multiverse
Some cults actually grow out of hunter cells that have gone mad or become so morally bankrupt that their ideals end up truly tortuous. A cell starts out hunting the monsters, and soon finds a sorcerer who sacrifices children to some sewer-bound serpent god called Ndengei, and that sorcerer gets a lot out of the bargain. No, they don't sacrifice children to the serpent right away. And they probably kill the sorcerer. But time, horror and mystery wear down the hunters. Some or all of members of the cell think, "Maybe we need greater resources to keep this city safe." And they know that a local lycanthrope visits his nephew, an ADHD kid who, frankly, will probably become a werewolf just like his uncle. Would it be so bad to offer this one child to the serpent god for a taste of righteous power? To save the city, isn't that a reasonable cost? They do so. And all seems good. But maybe the power wanes. Or maybe they get sick. And maybe Ndengei offers to return the power if only they'd find another wayward child who doesn’t deserve to cling to this mortal coil...
—Hunter: The Vigil, First Edition corebook
Sometimes people who hunt monsters, being just people, cross the line. Like Freddy (Nietzsche, not Krueger) said: battle not with monsters lest you become one. He wasn't kidding. You can spend years on this, and the more you hunt the monsters, the less hope you find, the less good you see in the world. The scum rises to the surface. Everyone seems to be out for blood, and if they’re not, it's only because they're either cowards or they're lying to themselves.
And there isn't a single damn person thanking you for what you're doing. Most of them think you're nuts. You've saved their lives more times than you can count. You've kept their kids safe for years. And they don't even think you're worth talking to. Where do they get off? They're complacent, and self-satisfied, and just as capable of turning into monsters as anyone else. You start to wonder if there aren't just two kinds of people: cattle and monsters. The cattle don't deserve to live. The monsters deserve to die.
—Hunter: The Vigil: Slasher
Video Games
"You wanna know what's wrong? I'm sick of being treated like I'm not even here! 'Desmond, do this! Desmond, do that! Desmond, you'd better figure things out because the sun is going to turn us all to ash, and I know I was really nice to you but actually, I'm just another Templar plot-twist and, yes, I would like very much for you to be controlled by a magic space wizard so that you can murder me!' So there's you're answer! I'm sick of being a goddamn pawn! I thought it might be different with you! I mean you're my FATHER, but it turns out you're no better than the FUCKING TEMPLARS!"
Adéwalé: You...have become...a monster, Shay...
Shay Cormac: Perhaps I have...
Shay Cormac: Perhaps I have...
"Yeah. Whoever fights monsters should see to it that, in the process, he doesn't become a monster."
— Sonny, Chicken Police
"Men have this idea that we can fight with dignity, that there's a proper way to kill someone. It's absurd, it's an aesthetic: we need it to endure the bloody horror of murder. You must destroy that idea: show 'em what a terrible, messy thing it is to kill a man, and then show 'em that you relish in it. Shoot to wound, then execute the wounded; burn 'em, take them in close combat; destroy their preconceptions of what a man is and you'll become their personal monster. When they fear you, you become stronger, you become better, but let's never forget that it's a display, it's a posture, like a lion's roar or a gorilla thumping at his chest. If you lose yourself in the display, if you succumb to the horror, then you become the monster. You become reduced, not more than a man, but less... And that can be fatal."
— The Jackal, Far Cry 2
"By the gods, what have I become?"
— Kratos, God of War: Ghost of Sparta
"I have become the beast."
— Cole MacGrath, inFAMOUS 2
"In my years fighting crime, I've learned one truth — that every villain is the hero of his own story. Superman was no exception. The Joker drugged him, tricked him into killing his pregnant wife Lois, and made him trigger the bomb that nuked Metropolis. So when Superman killed the Joker, I understood why. We all did. But once that line was crossed, there was no going back. He gave himself and the Justice League a new mandate: stop all crime before it happened, by any means necessary. But he couldn't see his good intentions were leading him down a path of tyranny and evil. That's how our greatest hero, became our greatest threat."
"Two Jedi Knights, Revan and Malak, defied the Jedi Council. They challenged the Mandalorian fierceness and brutality on the battlefield with a viciousness of their own. […] Many believed the Mandalorians defeated at Malachor V. But the Mandalorians taught the Jedi much through battle. […] As Revan and Malak fought the Mandalorians in battle after battle, they grew to despise weakness, just as the Mandalorians did. In the end, the Mandalorians had taught them through conflict. Shaped the Jedi. And turned them into a weapon — against the Republic."
"In every heart the seed of dark abides. The makings of a lord when watered well... With hate. Sweet hate."
— Odio, Live A Live
"Be careful out there, Liara. Don't turn into the thing you're hunting."
— Commander Shepard to Liara T'Soni during her hunt for the Shadow Broker, Mass Effect 2
Miller: Cipher sent us to hell — but we're going even deeper — take back everything that we've lost!
Big Boss: Kaz... I'm already a demon...
Big Boss: Kaz... I'm already a demon...
"If I kill the monster, do I become the monster? OH, I HOPE SO!"
— Multiple Uruk Captains before fighting Caragors, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Talion: These Orcs are abominations.
Celebrimbor: And to defeat them, we must become worse.
Celebrimbor: And to defeat them, we must become worse.
"What have you become, when even nightmares fear you?"
— Nessa to the Player Character, Path of Exile
Marie: ...Patricia, you should not have come. Do not worry about me — my quest is nearly at an end.
Peacock/Patricia: Oh, puh-lease. Don't worry about you? Some hellish Macguffin has turned you into an undead killing machine and I was created to stop you. And there's no way you can beat me... so of course I'm worried about you! (Marie summons the corpse of the man who tortured Peacock) Whoa! Is that... him? So all these people are...
Marie: Evil. From the slave traders of Rommelgrad to their patrons, the Medicis... all must perish. Patricia... Please leave. I... cannot guarantee your safety much longer.
Peacock: It must be taking everything you've got to fight that thing inside you. One of these days, you'll slip up and you'll just be as bad as those guys... Or worse.
Peacock/Patricia: Oh, puh-lease. Don't worry about you? Some hellish Macguffin has turned you into an undead killing machine and I was created to stop you. And there's no way you can beat me... so of course I'm worried about you! (Marie summons the corpse of the man who tortured Peacock) Whoa! Is that... him? So all these people are...
Marie: Evil. From the slave traders of Rommelgrad to their patrons, the Medicis... all must perish. Patricia... Please leave. I... cannot guarantee your safety much longer.
Peacock: It must be taking everything you've got to fight that thing inside you. One of these days, you'll slip up and you'll just be as bad as those guys... Or worse.
"None of this would have happened if you had just stopped."
— Konrad, Spec Ops: The Line
"I can feel my power growing, feeding off my anger. Father would say I've lost the path of balance. But he wouldn't understand: The only way to fight a monster... is to become one."
— Martin Li/Mr. Negative, Spider-Man (PS4)
"There is blood on my hands, how long till it lies on my heart?"
— Denam Pavel, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
"Humanity had idolized and worshipped the Phoenix as a god, but the battles between the energy-winged crafts caused massive casualties and soon mankind teetered on the brink of extinction. In time, people began to call the Phoenix "Winged Menace Zero" and Gehenna's influence began to wane."
— The Tale of ALLTYNEX Official Guide Book
"Egil has been blinded by revenge. It's all so sad. I know that Zanza killed many of our people... But doesn't this make Egil just like Zanza?"
— Linada, Xenoblade Chronicles 1
Visual Novels
"Earlier, you called McGilded a monster. A man who used his wealth and influence to distort the facts and escape justice for the crime of murder. What tragic irony... For what you have done... is exactly the same. You've become the very monster you saw, and despised so deeply, in McGilded."
— Barok van Zieks to Ashley Graydon, The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures, Case G1-5: "The Adventure of the Unspeakable Story"
Raiten Menimemo: If our government is going to let criminals walk free... If they're going to crush the free press... ...then what choice do I have but to see that justice is done myself?!
Susato Mikotoba: Let's not forget, Menimeno-san... that you committed murder yourself, and you tried to lay the blame at the defendant's door. I'm sorry, but you're no better than Jezaille Brett.
Susato Mikotoba: Let's not forget, Menimeno-san... that you committed murder yourself, and you tried to lay the blame at the defendant's door. I'm sorry, but you're no better than Jezaille Brett.
— The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve, Case G2-1: "The Adventure of the Blossoming Attorney"
Ryunosuke Naruhodo: Your actions against those who'd ruined your future were justified as revenge. At least, to yourself. Certainly, no one has the right to destroy another's prospects, especially for purely selfish gain. And yet... ...in carrying out your plan, you did exactly that to someone else, didn't you?
Enoch Drebber: Did I...?
Ryunosuke: Professor Harebrayne's only crime was passion for his hypothesis! But you had no compunction about sacrificing his future to effect your revenge. You knew that he would be forever branded a failure and a fraud.
Drebber: .........
Ryunosuke: Perhaps life treated you unfairly ten years ago, and others' misconduct left your life in tatters. But remember this... ...your own actions... resulted in exactly the same thing for another perfectly innocent young man!
Enoch Drebber: Did I...?
Ryunosuke: Professor Harebrayne's only crime was passion for his hypothesis! But you had no compunction about sacrificing his future to effect your revenge. You knew that he would be forever branded a failure and a fraud.
Drebber: .........
Ryunosuke: Perhaps life treated you unfairly ten years ago, and others' misconduct left your life in tatters. But remember this... ...your own actions... resulted in exactly the same thing for another perfectly innocent young man!
— The Great Ace Attorney: Resolve, Case G2-3: "The Return of the Great Departed Soul"
"That's not testimony. It's practically a script. No doubt that the rest of this trial will go exactly as you've so clearly planned... Your hatred of me is understandable. In your mind, I'm sure, I am the Reaper who sent your father to the gallows all those years ago. But you're in danger of becoming a far more sinister Reaper yourself..."
— Barok van Zieks to Kazuma Asogi, The Great Ace Attorney: Resolve, Case G2-5: "The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo"
"I know that war breeds more hatred. Just as my own hatred came from [Nobunaga Oda]. But I cannot die until I am relieved of the horrible burden of this grief. ...Forgive me."
— Kennyo, Ikemen Sengoku
Josephine: They have earned my wrath. Every drop of it.
Harper: But there are innocent people in this town!
Josephine: NO ONE IS INNOCENT! This place should not exist! It's a cancer! Every soul here is a parasite!
Harper: Listen to yourself! You're losing everything that made you human and you're letting it happen! You're more of a monster now than ever!
Josephine: It takes a monster to hunt monsters.
Harper: But there are innocent people in this town!
Josephine: NO ONE IS INNOCENT! This place should not exist! It's a cancer! Every soul here is a parasite!
Harper: Listen to yourself! You're losing everything that made you human and you're letting it happen! You're more of a monster now than ever!
Josephine: It takes a monster to hunt monsters.
"You became a prosecutor to bring down Queen Ga'ran. But at some point, you came to serve the very regime you despised. And that was because the queen found this chink in your armor. That's how she came to use your sister against you."
— Apollo Justice to Nahyuta Sahdmadhi, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice, Case 6-5: "Turnabout Revolution"
Webcomics
Zoss: This is your choice? Abandoning your companion to die? To go slay the dragon and drink his blood?
Allison: Look old man, I'm doing what you told me. I'm taking control. This is what everyone wants me to be, right? A hero!
Zoss: Take care of slaying dragons Alice - lest ye become one.
Allison: Look old man, I'm doing what you told me. I'm taking control. This is what everyone wants me to be, right? A hero!
Zoss: Take care of slaying dragons Alice - lest ye become one.
Web Original
Tommy: Tubbo, you can't turn into what you hate. You can't be the next Schlatt. If you exile me, you're following in that man's footsteps.
Tubbo: ...Okay. Well, as long as I can't be the next Schlatt, you can't be the next Wilbur.
Tubbo: ...Okay. Well, as long as I can't be the next Schlatt, you can't be the next Wilbur.
"What was that Nietzsche said? "He who fights drummers should see to it that in the process he does not become a drummer." Or was it monsters? I dunno, same thing really. […] No, it had to be drummers. That's a monster, [[Comically Missing the Point and there's no way I'm gonna end up looking like that thing]..."
"A lot of people think they can just do whatever because they're doing it 'ironically' or 'for the meme' or whatever. But, like, even if you're doing something ironically, you're still just doing it. And often times, it's hard to tell if someone is being ironic, so the entire meaning is lost on most people anyway."
— Alex Meyers on Mean Girls
"The path you're heading down, where you're the only one with the answers...where you do the thing you think is right, no matter the cost... it's not going to take you anywhere good."
—Oscar Pine to James Ironwood about his authoritarian actions, RWBY
"(nasally voice) HA HA! I have arisen! Now it is I who is the dumper of books!"
— Noah Antwiler on Massacre at Central High, The Spoony Experiment
Western Animation
General Eiling: I'm not the menace! Metahumans are — superpowered beings.
Kid: You're the only one around here with superpowers.
Kid: You're the only one around here with superpowers.
Kion: I'm worried about the Roar. The last time I used it, I was really angry. And it caused so much destruction!
Mufasa: The Roar of the Elders is very powerful.
Kion: I know. And that's why I'm thinking... (sighs) I shouldn't use it again. I... I'm worried that I might turn into Scar.
Mufasa: Scar cared only for himself. His selfishness fueled his anger. Why were you angry, Kion?
Kion: Janja and the hyenas. They were attacking my mom. I was so mad at them when I used the Roar! I lost control. And it almost hurt my mom. I almost hurt my mom!
Mufasa: (regretfully) Scar never cared for anyone else the way you do, Kion. So, perhaps you should speak with the one you care so much about.
Kion: Right. I will. Thank you, Grandfather.
Mufasa: The Roar of the Elders is very powerful.
Kion: I know. And that's why I'm thinking... (sighs) I shouldn't use it again. I... I'm worried that I might turn into Scar.
Mufasa: Scar cared only for himself. His selfishness fueled his anger. Why were you angry, Kion?
Kion: Janja and the hyenas. They were attacking my mom. I was so mad at them when I used the Roar! I lost control. And it almost hurt my mom. I almost hurt my mom!
Mufasa: (regretfully) Scar never cared for anyone else the way you do, Kion. So, perhaps you should speak with the one you care so much about.
Kion: Right. I will. Thank you, Grandfather.
Real Life
"The best revenge is not to be like your enemy."
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
"Our souls may be consumed by shadows, but that doesn't mean we have to behave as monsters."
— Emm Cole, The Short Life of Sparrows
"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."
— Confucius
"As soon as men decide that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil that they set out to destroy."
— Christopher Dawson
"Revenge proves its own executioner."
— John Ford, The Broken Heart
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
— Mahatma Gandhi
"You can be the hunter, or you can be the hunted."
— Lisa Gardner, The Neighbor
"Be careful in the company of monsters that you don't become one."
— Cindy Gerard, Take No Prisoners
"Violence is a disease, a disease that corrupts all who use it regardless of the cause."
— Chris Hedges
"Funny thing about revenge. It could make a killer out of a nun."
— Kevis Hendrickson
"Gentlemen tell us that the Filipinos are savages, that they have inflicted torture, that they have dishonored our dead and outraged the living. That very likely may be true. Spain said the same thing of the Cubans. We have made the same charges against our own countrymen in the disturbed days after the war. The reports of committees and the evidence in the documents in our library are full of them. But who ever heard before of an American gentleman, or an American, who took as a rule for his own conduct the conduct of his antagonist, or who claimed that the Republic should act as savages because she had savages to deal with?"
"Systems in conflict become more similar over time."
— Herman Kahn, Thinking About the Unthinkable
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars."
"This is the horror. In reaction to the foul and insidious prejudice, one begins to act like a fascist."
— Roger Mitton, The Cost of Casual Racism
"Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself."
— Richard Nixon during his resignation speech
"Revenge is often like biting a dog because the dog bit you."
— Austin O'Malley
"You cannot continue to victimize someone else just because you yourself were a victim once — there has to be a limit."
— Edward Said
