Revenge Trivia Quiz

Answer: Unknown--traditional

It is believed to have been a old Sicilian proverb with a relationship to Mafia ethics. Where the phrase has been found in literature it is often in quotation marks that give credence to it being a traditional proverb. You will find it in a number of films. It was probably first used in "Kind Hearts and Coronets" (1949), then "Death Rides a Horse" (1967), and "Kill Bill" (2003). In 1982's "Wrath of Khan" it is presented as a old Klingon proverb.

Essentially, it means that revenge should be taken in a planned, dispassionate, cold-blooded way.

Answer: Confucius

The phrase is most often associated with the Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher who lived five hundred years before Jesus. His wise sayings on social interaction, political ethics, justice seem to ring as true today as in his era.

Revenge is a dangerous pursuit. You well make enemies of the friends of your object of your revenge and may pay the ultimate price.

Answer: The Merchant of Venice

In the most dramatic scene in "The Merchant of Venice" we find the moneylender, Shylock, pleading for his "pound of flesh" that he says he will not eat but use for fish bait. This play is interesting as it reflects the relationship of Jews and Christians during Shakespeare time and his interpretation.

Answer: Martin Luther King Jr.

King was the second of three assassinations that stunned the world in the 1960s. First John Kennedy, then Martin Luther King Jr. King then Robert Kennedy brought the term 'passive resistance' into popular vernacular, just as Gandhi had done a generation earlier. Each January we pause a day to reflect on his contributions on equality and justice.

Answer: Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens (born Steven Demetre Georgiou) was an A-list singer and songwriter in his early career. In 1977 he converted to Islam and since has added humanitarian, educator, and philanthropist to his resumé. Shortly after his conversion he sold all his property and gave it to the Nation of Islam.

He is revered as a man of peace having been chosen for the 2003 World Award, the 2004 Man of Peace Award, and the 2007 Mediterranean Prize for Peace. In 2014 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Answer: Niccolò Machiavelli

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian polymath who excelled in many different fields including history, politics, diplomacy, philosophy, and humanism. Many of his writings were satires and comedies. But his best known work "Il Principe" ("The Prince") that gave rise to the term "Machiavellian" used to describe ruthless tactics where the ends justify the means.

The Catholic Church found "Il Principe" offensive and banned it. It has, however, survived. It is written as a guide for Princes to maintain power and control through whatever means.

However, modern critics have reappraised "Il Principe". Some feel that it was not written for people in power but for the common man who knows first hand the methods that men use to control other people. It has been called "a deliberate comical irony".

Answer: They entered the city and killed all the men

The Bible teaches us both forgiveness and documents revenge. Here is a condensed story in Genesis:

"Three days later ... the brothers of Dinah, took their swords, went into the city, and killed all the men... After the slaughter Jacob's sons looted the town to take revenge for their sister's disgrace...(and) took the flocks, the cattle, the donkeys, and ... captured all the women." (Genesis 34:25)

"Vengeance is mine saith the Lord"(Romans 12:19) but despite this sometimes Christians take revenge.

Answer: Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali's autobiography "Muhammad Ali, The Greatest--My Own Story" contains this statement. After his conversion to Islam, he might not have been so vocal on the subject. He was always the center of controversy and created his own reputation. He was vilified for his refusal to do military service and for his trash talk to the press and to his opponents.

In the end he became revered figure, respected on an international basis. Late in life he succumbed to Parkinson's Disease due to the many blows he took during his fighting career.

Answer: Lord Byron

George Gordon Byron was the 6th Baron Byron. He was not only known for his poetry but for his scandalous affairs. If all that is said of Lord Byron is true, it reads like a work of fiction. His excesses were debts, love affairs with both sexes, an inappropriate relationship with his half-sister, and his considerable travels.

The quote is from one of his most popular poems "Don Juan" (1819). He became involved in the independence movement in Greece to oust the Turks and accepted a military command.

He became ill and died of an infection in Greece at the age of 36.

Answer: Ambrose Bierce

Bierce was, at heart, a journalist. He plied that trade many years in San Francisco. He wrote a column called "Prattle" and added many poems, short stories, and essays. His short stories were often based on his military experiences during the Civil War. He was an agnostic and prone to be bitter and caustic. He married and had three children, two of whom died before him. He divorced his wife when he found love letters from an admirer.

Probably depressed, he traveled to Mexico in 1914 to cover the revolution there. No one knows what happened to him. There is conjecture that, knowing the violence in the area, it was a form of suicide. He said by some to have joined Poncho Villa's army. Carlos Fuentes's novel "The Old Gringo" is an imagining of what may have transpired in Chihuahua. It was brought to the screen in 1989 with Gregory Peck in the title role co-starring Jane Fonda and Jimmy Smits.