[Ads-l] Proverb Origin: It Is Better to Die on Our Feet Than to Live on Our Knees

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks for the compliments, JL and Fred.
The QI article has been updated to include the Joseph Heller citation.
The changes should be visible within a few hours.

[Begin acknowledgment update]
In addition, thanks to Jonathan Lighter, Rob von Trupka, and “Czytam
więc jestem” who told QI about the instance of the saying in the 1961
novel “Catch-22”.
[End acknowledgment update]

Garson

On Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at 7:23 AM Jonathan Lighter
<00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> Fantastic work, Garson, as usual.
>
> In  _Catch-22_ (1961)  is the following:
>
> "Why don't you have some sense and try to be more like me? You might live
> to be a hundred and seven, too."
>
> "Because it's better to die on one's feet than live on one's knees," Nately
> retorted with triumphant and lofty conviction. "I guess you've heard
> that saying before."
>
> "Yes, I certainly have," said the treacherous old man, smiling again. "But
> I'm afraid you have it backward. It is better to _live_ on one's feet than
> die on one's knees. _That_ is how the saying goes."
>
> JL
>

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