THE OLD PROVERBIAL SAW: “Living well is the best revenge.”
Generally attributed to George Herbert (1593-1633)
English clergyman and poet
A saying included in his collection of proverbs, first published in Outlandish Proverbs (1640)
Many books and websites credit “Living well is the best revenge” to Herbert. It’s one of hundreds of common proverbs from various languages that he collected and translated as a scholarly hobby, and as grist for sermons he gave as an Anglican priest. Seven years after Herbert died, 1,032 of the sayings he collected were assembled into a book published under the name Outlandish Proverbs. This was republished with some additional entries in 1651, with the title Jacula Prudentum (Latin for “javelins of the wise”). It’s likely that Herbert heard and recorded “Living well is the best revenge,” rather than coining it. But its inclusion in his widely-read, pioneering collection of proverbs certainly helped popularize this old saying. |
CYNDI LAUPER'S VARIATION: “I don’t think I have ever achieved greatness despite everything I’ve done, but it’s not so much greatness, it’s happiness you need to focus on. Enjoying life is the best revenge. You have to stay connected to life and the things that excite you. Life is for learning.”
Cyndi Lauper
American singer, songwriter and actress
In an interview posted on the Music News website and others in November 2016 |
THE HAPPY LOSERS ANTHEM: “Everybody join the club,
Failure is the best revenge. FAILURE!
Only one way of doing things right,
but a thousand ways wrong.
So join the fight
in showing the winners we don’t play their games
An army of losers, retarded and lame.”
The Vandals
American punk rock band
Lyrics from their song “Failure Is The Best Revenge,” on their album The Quickening (1996) |
THE HAPPY WINNERS QUIP: “That’s the best revenge of all: happiness. Nothing drives people crazier than seeing someone have a good fucking life.”
Chuck Palahniuk
American novelist and journalist, best known for his novel Fight Club (1996)
This quip is widely attributed to Palahniuk, though an old discussion thread on the biggest fan site for the author suggests he may not have said it. |
GOSSIP GIRL’S POISON PEN VERSION: “Sticks and stones may break bones, but a poison pen is the best revenge.”
Kristen Bell, as the voice of the unseen blogger “Gossip Girl”
In a voiceover in the “You've Got Yale!” episode of the TV series Gossip Girl (Season 2, Episode 16, first aired January 19, 2009) |
A CARTOONIST’S CAUSTIC PEN VERSION: “Living well is the best revenge...and by living well, I mean seeing my enemies die in agony.”
Mike Stivers
American cartoonist
Word bubbles in a cartoon created by Stivers in 2003 |
* * * * * * * * * *
Comments? Corrections? Post them on the Famous Quotations Facebook page.
Related reading and viewing…
