Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture. – Mary Shelley Frankenstein, Chapter 21. Victor, who used dead bodies to create new life, wonders what he is made of. He seems to be identifying with his monster creation.
So America, we proclaim as we memorialize George Floyd: Do not cooperate with evil. Join the young people in the streets protesting against the evil, the inhumane, the torture that they witnessed on that video. – Benjamin Crump
Torture has never been a reliable means of extracting information. – Capt. Jean-Luc Picard Star Trek: The Next Generation, ‘Chain of Command, Part 2’.
The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me. – George Orwell 1984. Part 3, Chapter 3. O’Brien to Winston, making it lear that the regime holds on to power for its own sake, and for no high purpose.
Because animals are property, we consider as ‘humane treatment’ that we would regard as torture if it were inflicted on humans. – Gary L. Francione
It is inexcusable for scientists to torture animals; let them make their experiments on journalists and politicians. – Henrik Ibsen
Insomnia is a vertiginous lucidity that can convert paradise itself into a place of torture. – Emil Cioran
Consciousness is an end in itself. We torture ourselves getting somewhere, and when we get there it is nowhere, for there is nowhere to get to. – D. H. Lawrence
There is no need for use of torture instruments such as ankush for controlling the elephants. We can do it with the help of verbal commands. – Mark Shand
Bradley Manning has been imprisoned without charge, under torture, which is what solitary confinement is. – Noam Chomsky
To a lot of us, literature’s eternal significance had seemed beyond arguing – like, say, the illegality of government-sponsored torture. – Darin Strauss
Regrettably, it has become clear that torture of detainees in United States custody is not limited to Abu Ghraib or even Iraq. Since Abu Ghraib, there have been increasing reports of torture. – Marty Meehan
Judges must beware of hard constructions and strained inferences, for there is no worse torture than that of laws. – Francis Bacon
The confessional is not a torture chamber, but the place in which the Lord’s mercy motivates us to do better. – Pope Francis
After 10 years of French torture – psychological torture – it’s great to do an American movie. – Emmanuelle Beart
Even if torture works, what is the point of ‘defending’ America using a tactic that is a fundamental violation of what America ought to mean? – Phil Klay