Live by the sword, die by the sword

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The Arrest of Christ (c. 1500) by the Master of the Evora Altarpiece, showing Jesus intervening after one of the disciples cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest Caiaphas

"Live by the sword, die by the sword" is a proverb in the form of a parallel phrase, derived from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 26, 26:52): "Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."

Original Biblical quotation[]

The phrase comes from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 26, 26:52), in which one of Jesus's disciples is described as having struck the servant of the High Priest of Israel and cut off his ear.[1] Jesus is described as having rebuked him, saying:[2]

Version Text
Original Greek New Testament τότε λέγει αὐτῶ ὁ ἰησοῦς, ἀπόστρεψον τὴν μάχαιράν σου εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς, πάντες γὰρ οἱ λαβόντες μάχαιραν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀπολοῦνται.[3]
Latin Vulgate Tunc ait illi Jesus: Converte gladium tuum in locum suum: omnes enim, qui acceperint gladium, gladio peribunt.[4]
King James Version (KJV) Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword."
New International Version (NIV) "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword."

The saying "all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword" is only found in the Gospel of Matthew and not in any of the other gospels.[2] The Latin version refers to the weapon as a gladius, while the Greek version refers to it as a makhaira.

Interpretations[]

The sayings is sometimes interpreted to mean "those who live by violence will die by violence",[5] which some have interpreted as a call for Christian pacifism[6] or even complete nonviolence, including in self-defense. The passage may also mean that those who use the sword in a criminal, violent, unlawful way will be subject to execution by the sword. This would connect the passage to the statement by St. Paul in Romans 13:4, which uses the same Greek word for sword, "If you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for nothing." This is also in keeping with Genesis 9:6 where God commanded Noah, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image."

In modern times, the saying may also be applied to those who knowingly engage in dangerous activities as part of their occupations or for entertainment purposes, but accept the risk of serious injury or death from those activities.

History[]

A very similar line can be found in the Agamemnon, the first book of the Oresteia trilogy of tragic dramas by the ancient Greek tragedian and playwright Aeschylus.[7][8][9] The line, spoken by Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae after she murders her husband King Agamemnon in an act of vengeance, is rendered in the original Greek and translated to English (with varying levels of similarity to the original) as:

Version Text
Original Greek

ξιφοδηλήτῳ,
     θανάτῳ τίσας ᾇπερ ἦρχεν.[8][10]

Trans. by R. C. Trevelyan As he sinned by the sword, So is death by the sword his atonement.[8]
Trans. by Dr. Timothy Chappell (The Open University) He killed her by falsehoods, by falsehoods he dies as well.[11]
Trans. by Robert Fagles (Princeton University) “By the sword you did your work and by the sword you die.”[7]
Trans. by Christopher Collard (The Queen's College, Oxford) "[...] he has paid for just that deed, felled in death by the sword."[12]

The line differs across translators and is variously understood as "live by the sword, die by the sword" or "an eye for an eye", emphasizing the irony or appropriateness of the means by which he was killed. The play, first performed in 458 BCE, predates the similar concept espoused in the Gospel of Matthew, and remains popular to this day with regular performances [13][14] and readings.[15][16]

References in popular culture[]

"Live by the bomb die by the bomb" at the White House Peace Vigil, started by Thomas in 1981.
  • The saying is paraphrased in the slogan "live by the bomb, die by the bomb" used in the White House Peace Vigil protest.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Senior 1985, pp. 85–86.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Senior 1985, p. 86.
  3. ^ "Κατά Ματθαίον - Βικιθήκη". el.wikisource.org.
  4. ^ "Latin Vulgate Bible with Douay-Rheims and King James Version Side-by-Side+Complete Sayings of Jesus Christ". Latinvulgate.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  5. ^ "Those who live by the sword die by the sword - Idiom Definition". UsingEnglish.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  6. ^ John David Geib (2007). Gail M. Presbey (ed.). Philosophical Perspectives on the 'War on Terrorism'. p. 401. ISBN 978-9042021969. War and Peace in Christian Tradition: Why I am an engaged Christian pacifist
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Fagles, Robert (1984). The Oresteia. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140443332.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c Aeschylus (1920). The Agamemnon. Translated by Trevelyan, R. C. p. 63. ISBN 978-1290827652. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  9. ^ Hughes, Ted (2000). The Oresteia of Aeschylus: A New Translation by Ted Hughes. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9780374527051.
  10. ^ Aeschylus (1926). Aeschylus in Two Volumes (PDF). Vol. II. Translated by Smyth, Herbert Weir. p. 134. ISBN 978-0674991613. Retrieved 2020-10-16. |volume= has extra text (help)
  11. ^ The Definitive Agamemnon. Translated by Chappell, Timothy. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  12. ^ Aeschylus (2002). Oresteia. Translated by Collard, Christopher. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-953781-5.
  13. ^ "Agamemnon | The Cambridge Greek Play". www.cambridgegreekplay.com.
  14. ^ [1]
  15. ^ "Agamemnon (Oresteia, #1)". www.goodreads.com.
  16. ^ [2]

Bibliography[]

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