Emiliano Zapata? Dolores Ibarruri? Franklin D. Roosevelt? Ernest Hemingway? Aeschylus? François-Noël Babeuf? Luciano J. Rivas? Rafael Tellez Giron? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: A popular saying extolls courage and condemns subservience even when conditions are challenging:
It’s better to die on your feet than live on your knees.
This motto has been attributed to Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata, Spanish politician Dolores Ibárruri, French revolutionary leader François-Noël Babeuf, ancient Greek tragedian Aeschylus, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. literary figure Ernest Hemingway, and others. This situation is confusing. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI appeared in the Mexican periodical “El Mundo Ilustrado” (“The Illustrated World”) in September 1906 within an article about Mexican leader Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla written by Luciano J. Rivas. Here is a Spanish excerpt followed by an English translation. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
Mexicanos imitémoslo, recordando que “vale más morir de pie que vivir de rodillas.”
Mexicans, let us emulate him, remembering that “it is better to die standing than to live on one’s knees.”
The saying above was enclosed within quotation marks which signaled that the statement was already an existing proverb.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Thematically similar remarks have a long history. For example, Aeschylus in the 5th century BC wrote the play “Agamemnon” which included the following. An English rendering is followed by the original Greek:2
Are we really to prolong our lives like this by surrendering to the rulership of these defilers of the royal house?
No, it’s intolerable, and it’s better to die! That’s a less bitter fate than living under tyranny.
—ἦ καὶ βίον τείνοντες ὧδ᾿ ὑπείξομεν
δόμων καταισχυντῆρσι τοῖσδ᾿ ἡγουμένοις;—ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἀνεκτόν, ἀλλὰ κατθανεῖν κρατεῖ·
πεπαιτέρα γὰρ μοῖρα τῆς τυραννίδος.
The statement above was not a strong match for the saying under investigation. Yet, a 1975 English translation of “Agamemnon” employed the saying under examination which produced some confusion. See the details provided with the 1975 citation presented further below.
Major-General Philip Skippon received credit for the following remark spoken during the English Civil War in 1644 according to a history book published in 1682:3
… better to dye with honour, and faithfulness, than to live dishonourable.
In 1797 the French revolutionary leader François-Noël Babeuf (Gracchus Babeuf) was put on trial as the leader of an uprising against the French government. Babeuf was found guilty and executed. During his trial Babeuf employed the following remark:4
Ne vaut-il pas mieux emporter la gloire de n’avoir pas survécu à la servitude … ?
Is it not better to carry with us the glory of not having outlived our servitude …?
The statement above was not a strong match for the saying under investigation. Yet, many years later, in 1964, the statement above was very loosely translated to yield a match. See the details provided with the 1964 citation given further below.
In 1880 the book “In the Forest: A Tale of Adventure in North America” by W. H. G. Kingston appeared. Kingston wrote the following partial match:5
“We are sure to be discovered,” I whispered to Pablo. “Our wisest mode of proceeding will be to stand up and face them boldly. It will be better to die on our feet, than to be speared like skulking foxes.”
In 1906 “El Mundo Ilustrado” (“The Illustrated World”) published a piece by Luciano J. Rivas which included the target expression as mentioned previously:
Mexicanos imitémoslo, recordando que “vale más morir de pie que vivir de rodillas.”
Mexicans, let us emulate him, remembering that “it is better to die standing than to live on one’s knees.”
In 1918 Rafael Tellez Giron published an article in “Diario Oficial: Organo del Gobierno Constitucional de los Unidos Mexicanos” (“Official Gazette: Organ of the Constitutional Government of the United Mexican States”) which included the following excerpt:6
Ayudémosle, pues. todos los que hemos tenido la gloria de comulgar con el credo del Constitucionalismo; todos los que preferimos morir en pie que vivir de rodillas. Ayudémosles a consumar con la fuerza del derecho la obra de la Revolución hecha progreso …
Here is an English rendering:
Let us help him, then—all of us who have had the glory of embracing the creed of Constitutionalism; all of us who would rather die standing than live on our knees. Let us help them bring to fruition, through the force of law, the work of a Revolution transformed into progress …
Emiliano Zapata died in 1919.
In 1923 the book “The Social Revolution in Mexico” by Edward Alsworth Ross stated that the saying appeared as a graffito:7
Their indomitable spirit is expressed in the sentiment which “rebels of the south” have penciled on a pillar of the Bordo Garden at Cuernavaca. Es mas honroso morir de pie que vivir de rodillas. (Better die standing than live kneeling.)
In 1924 Roberto Haberman published an article titled “Bandit Colonies” in the periodical “Survey Graphic”. Haberman linked the saying to Emiliano Zapata, but he did not directly attribute the saying to Zapata; instead, Haberman credited the saying to an anonymous follower of Zapata:8
The day he was murdered, and the news of it reached Cuernavaca, a barefooted peon scratched with his penknife in crude letters on one of the posts of the Boarda Garden, the old Maximillian palace, the following: “Rebels of the South, it is more honorable to die on your feet than to live on your knees.” Zapata was one of the bandits, as you see.
In 1925 the book “Modern Missions in Mexico” appeared and the authors mentioned the saying. The accompanying footnote pointed to the 1923 book “The Social Revolution in Mexico”:9
This new spirit is expressed in the words “penciled on a pillar of the Bordo Garden at Cuernavaca” during the early stages of the revolution, when the peons were fighting for the victory of the “land-to-the-peon” program: “Es mas honroso morir de pie que vivir de rodillas” (It is better to die standing than to live kneeling). As has been said of a somewhat similar revolutionary movement in another part of the world, we may look upon the waste incident to this contest with a sigh but never with a sneer.
In 1927 “The Standard” magazine printed excerpts from an address titled “Present Conditions in Mexico” at the Public Forum of the Society for Ethical Culture in New York. The speaker Frank Tannenbaum mentioned the saying:10
There was an old Indian, one of the common peons, who had been a soldier. He knew how to scribble, in a crude sort of fashion. He had learned Spanish in Zapata’s army, because they carried a school along with them. He went to one of the old Mexican gardens, and scratched some words on one of the posts, on the day Zapata was killed. He wrote: “It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.” A people who can produce a common man amongst them who in a day of trial will express such heroism deserve their chance for freedom.
In 1936 “The New York Times” linked the saying to Spanish leader Dolores Ibárruri:11
Mr. Martinez-Barrio recalled a sentence uttered in a public speech recently by the Communist woman Deputy, Mrs. Dolores Ibarruri (La Pasionaria), that “we would rather die on our feet than die on our knees.”
Ibárruri used the saying during a radio broadcast on July 18, 1936 according to “The New Yale Book of Quotations”.12
In 1937 “The Intercollegian” magazine published a letter to the editor which used the saying while discussing the Spanish Civil War and Loyalist Spaniards:13
Though one might not concur with the young Loyalists on political grounds, one could not fail to admire them for their sincerity, information and fervor. They seemed to feel they had a real cause, for which “it is preferable to die on our feet than live on our knees.”
In 1939 “The New York Times” reported that Professor Harold J. Laski of the London School of Commerce used the saying while addressing University of Wisconsin students at a peace convocation:14
“We liberals have the choice between the battlefield and the concentration camp and we shall choose the battlefield. We prefer to die on our feet rather than to live on our knees.”
In 1940 Ernest Hemingway published “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. The character Joaquín presented several slogans. Joaquín attributed the saying to Dolores Ibarruri (La Pasionaria):15
“There is another that applies to here,” Joaquín said, bringing them out as though they were talismans, “Pasionaria says it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”
In 1941 a speech composed by Franklin D. Roosevelt was delivered on his behalf by Major Gen Edwin M. Watson at a Special Convocation of the University of Oxford which was held at Harvard University:16
We, too, born to freedom, and believing in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who believe as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.
In 1945 “The Uplift” journal of Concord, North Carolina attributed the saying to the Norwegian people during World War 2:17
“The Norwegians had a phrase when their own country was first invaded and overrun. ‘We had rather die on our feet’, they said, ‘than live on our knees’.
In 1964 translator John Anthony Scott presented in English the defense arguments made by Gracchus Babeuf before the High Court of Vendôme in 1797. Scott used the saying under examination; however, an accompanying footnote displayed the original French text which differed significantly:18
Royalist terror, which has already destroyed our comrades, will emerge triumphant with our destruction. Royalist steel will flash again to gather in a harvest of death among the ranks of the friends of freedom. Better, far better, that we should not witness these final scenes of disaster; better that we should die on our feet rather than live on our knees, that we should sacrifice our lives gloriously because we wished to save the lives of others.
Footnote: “Ne vaut-il pas mieux emporter la gloire de n’avoir pas survécu à la servitude?”
In 1975 translator Robert Fagles published an English rendering of “Agamemnon” by Aeschylus. Fagles employed the saying, but his translation was loose, and the saying did not precisely correspond to the original Greek phrasing:19
—What, drag out our lives? bow down to the tyrants, the ruin of the house?
—Never, better to die on your feet than live on your knees.
In conclusion, the earliest close match appeared in a 1906 article by Luciano J. Rivas. The saying was enclosed with quotation marks which indicated that the proverb was already in circulation. Thus, the creator remains anonymous. The attribution to Emiliano Zapata is incorrect. The attribution was based on the tale of a graffito written by one of Zapata’s followers. The attributions to Aeschylus and François-Noël Babeuf are also incorrect. The attributions occurred because of sloppy translations.
Image Notes: Wooden figures depicting one person helping another person. The image is from succo at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgements: Great thanks to Diego, Ioan Grillo, and Stephen Bell who participated in a discussion thread on this topic via xtwitter. This thread led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Also, thanks to previous researchers including Fred R. Shapiro, editor of “The New Yale Book of Quotations”; Nigel Rees, editor of “Brewer’s Famous Quotations”; Ralph Keyes, author of “The Quote Verifier”; David C. Hill, editor of the website WIST (wish I’d said that).
- 1906 September 16 (16 de Septiembre de 1906), El Mundo Ilustrado (The Illustrated World), Year 13, Volume 2, Number 12, Hidalgo by Luciano J. Rivas, Quote Page 3 (Unnumbered), Published in Mexico. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 2008, Aeschylus Oresteia: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, Eumenides, Edited and Translated by Alan H. Sommerstein, Loeb Classical Library, Play: Agamemnon (First play of the Oresteia trilogy), Quote Page 166 and 167, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. (Verified with scans) link ↩︎
- 1682, Memorials of the English Affairs: Or, an Historical Account of What Passed from the Beginning of the Reign of King Charles the First to King Charles the Second His Happy Restauration, During the Reign of King Charles the First, Year: 1644, Quote Page 98, Column 2, Printed for Nathaniel Ponder, London, England. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- Discours Des Accusateurs Nationaux, Défenses Des Accusés et De Leurs Defenseurs, Faisant suite aux débats du procès instruit contre DROUET, BABOEUF, et autres (Speeches by the National Accusers, Defenses by the Accused and Their Counsel, Following the proceedings of the trial conducted against Drouet, Baboeuf, and others), Tome Quatrième (Volume Four), Défense Générale des Accuses: Discours de Germain (General Defense of the Accused: Germain’s Speech), Défense particulière de Babœuf, Note: The defense of Gracchus Babeuf took place at the High Court of Vendôme in 1797), Start Page 362, Quote Page 377 and 378, Chez Baudouin, Imprimeur du Corps législatif, Paris, France. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1880, In the Forest: A Tale of Adventure in North America by the Late W. H. G. Kingston, Chapter 12, Quote Page 379, T. Nelson and Sons, London. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1918 May 27 (Lunes 27 De Mayo De 1918), Diario Oficial: Organo del Gobierno Constitucional de los Unidos Mexicanos, (Official Gazette: Organ of the Constitutional Government of the United Mexican States), Volume 9, Number 23, Inmigracion y Colonizacion en Mexico (Immigration and Colonization in Mexico) by Rafael Tellez Giron, Quote Page 270, Published by the Secretaria de Gobernacion (Secretariat of the Interior), Mexico. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1923, The Social Revolution in Mexico by Edward Alsworth Ross (Professor of Sociology in the University of Wisconsin), Chapter 5: Judgment-Day in Morelos, Quote Page 60, The Century Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1924 May, Survey Graphic, Volume 5, Number 2, Bandit Colonies by Roberto Haberman, Start Page 147, Quote Page 148, Column 2, Survey Associates Inc., New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1925, Modern Missions in Mexico by W. Reginald Wheeler, Dwight H. Day and James B. Rodgers, Chapter 17: Some Political and Economic Developments Under the Constitution of 1917, Quote Page 197, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1927 February, The Standard, Volume 13, Issue 6, Present Conditions in Mexico by Frank Tannenbaum, (Note: Excerpts from an address at the Public Forum of the Society for Ethical Culture in New York), Start Page 161, Quote Page 166, American Ethical Union, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1936 October 2, The New York Times, Cortes Convenes Under Airplanes by William P, Carney (Wireless to The New York Times), Quote Page 12, Column 7, New York. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 2021, The New Yale Book of Quotations, Compiled by Fred R. Shapiro, Section: Dolores Ibarruri, Quote Page 402, Column 1 and 2, Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut. (Verified with hardcopy) ↩︎
- 1937 March, The Intercollegian, Volume 54, Number 5, Section: Correspondence (Letters to the Editor), Letter Title: Interesting Visitors, Letter Author: Clarence Elliott of Indianapolis, Quote Page 129, Column 1, The Intercollegian, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1939 April 8, The New York Times, Laski Lauds Pacts to Fight Fascists (Special to the New York Times), Quote Page 4, Column 5, New York. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1940, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, Chapter 27, Quote Page 309, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1945, The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Compiled with Special Material and Explanatory Notes by Samuel I. Rosenman, Volume 10: The Call to Battle Stations, Speech Title: The President Sends a Message to the Special Convocation of the University of Oxford Held at the Harvard Commencement on the Award of a Degree of Doctor of Civil Law, Date: June 19, 1941, Start Page 226, Quote Page 226 and 227, Russell & Russell, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1945 May 12, The Uplift, Volume 33, Number 19, Victory Over Germany, Start Page 5, Quote Page 7 and 8, The Printing Class of Stonewall Jackson Manual Training and Industrial School, Concord, North Carolina. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1964, The Defense of Gracchus Babeuf Before the High Court of Vendôme by Gracchus Babeuf, Edited and Translated by John Anthony Scott, Quote Page 58, The Gehenna Press, Northampton, Massachusetts. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1975, The Oresteia by Aeschylus, Translated by Robert Fagles, Section: Agamemnon, Chorus, Quote Page 155, The Viking Press, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎