Fiction
Vin: You know, Louie, there's one good thing about this Ghost Dog guy.
Louie: What's that, Vin?
Vin: He's sending us out the old way. Like real fucking gangsters.
"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Dr. Diane Turner: [referencing the Dylan Thomas poem] Thornton, what does that poem mean to you?
Thornton Mellon: It means... I don't take shit from no one!
Thornton Mellon: It means... I don't take shit from no one!
"We do not know what our chances of survival are, so we fight as if they were zero. We do not know what we are facing, so we fight as if it was the dark gods themselves. No one will remember us now and we may never be buried beneath Titan, so we will build our own memorial here. The Chapter might lose us and the Imperium might never know we existed, but the Enemy - the Enemy will know. The Enemy will remember. We will hurt it so badly that it will never forget us until the stars burn out and the Emperor vanquishes it at the end of time. When Chaos is dying, its last thought will be of us. That is our memorial -carved into the heart of Chaos. We cannot lose, Grey Knights. We have already won."
— Justicar Alaric, Warhammer 40,000
"So this was the mentalist Nupraptor, this broken, pathetic little man. As crippled as he was, he would not wield without battle - very well, old fool! If it is death you seek, I will not deny you!"
— Kain, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
"Zeon's strength was expended in the Battle of Loum! There is no way they can create new soldiers overnight, and Ghiren Zabi knows it. I therefore appeal to all the citizens of the Earth Federation, to each and every one of you. Zeon is exhausted! Now is not the time for us to kneel before Zeon. It is time for us to rise! Now, more than ever, is our chance to defeat Zeon!"
— General Revil, Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening by Yoshiyuki Tomino
“Do not tell me what I am or am not,” the demon hissed, “It doesn’t matter that God has Felled me, that the Adversary is ready to welcome me to Hell, that my wings are, are icky and that I have talons, because I still want to help people, I still want to undo all of the wrongs I see, and, God-approved or not, the most grievous wrong is that this world, this beautiful world that I’ve spent the last six thousand years in, that we’ve spent the last six thousand years in, is going to be destroyed, and it’s all my fault, and that you and I are going to be parted forever when I finally got the courage to tell you how I’ve felt for a thousand years if not longer - angel, demon, Heaven, Hell, good, evil, they’re all words, they’re all labels, they all mean absolutely bloody nothing, all that matters is that I love this world, I love this life, and I love you, you complete and utter bastard, and I will do anything to keep the things I love safe, and if we don’t do this, you and I, we’ll cease to exist anyway, or we will spend a short time on the run, maybe, before we are captured and you’re put through all kinds of torments that I simply cannot abide, and I think if you were thinking clearly you would agree you’d rather stop being if it meant you wouldn’t have to go through that, and that if there were a chance, any chance at all, that you could avoid that, that the world could avoid that, you would take that opportunity, so you, right now, are going to turn this stupid old amazing wonderful piece of machinery around, and we are going to go to Manchester, and we are going to do our damnable, blessed best to save the world so that we can live in it together.”
— Zira, Manchester Lost
"I know at the end of the blogs, they tell you that when the time comes that he comes after you, that you should end it yourself. Take your own life so that he doesn't take it. Well today, I tell you the opposite. Don't quit. Don't give up. Fight. Fight him as long and as hard as you can. He may win in the end. But don't give him the satisfaction of an easy kill. Let the fucker work for his food. You can't keep letting him think that just because he holds the royal flush that it means you have to just fold. If enough people fight, if enough people give him a good run around... it may be enough to finish him. So please. Don't give up. Give it everything you've got. If you have to end it before he gets you, then do it. But give it your all before you do. Give him one hell of a show before you do."
— Zeke Strahm, Seeking Truth
"My brethren, hear me, for there is little time left. All that remains of our race, our civilization, are those that stand beside you now. Trust in each other. Strike as one will. Let our last stand burn a memory so bright we will be remembered forever. En taro Tassadar!"
— Artanis, Starcraft II
Stukov: The fallen xel'naga. A being of unknowable power.
Kerrigan: There's no way, we can win.
Stukov: Then why fight?
Kerrigan: Because the other option is to lie down and die.
Stukov: Well, I never wanted to die lying down. So, fight a god to the bitter end? That sounds like a worthy death. I am with you.
Kerrigan: There's no way, we can win.
Stukov: Then why fight?
Kerrigan: Because the other option is to lie down and die.
Stukov: Well, I never wanted to die lying down. So, fight a god to the bitter end? That sounds like a worthy death. I am with you.
— Conversation discussing the Greater-Scope Villain of Starcraft II, Starcraft II Heart Of The Swarm
"It's good to see you survived that last assault, but when the Burning Legion makes its final push, they'll wipe us out. It's been an honor to fight by your side all these years, but our strength was not enough to save Azeroth. Before we meet death, let's send a few hundred demons screaming back to the Twisting Nether!"
— Archmage Khadgar, World of Warcraft
"Maybe you're right. Maybe we can't win this but we'll fight you regardless, just like we did Sovereign. Just like I'm doin' now. However "insignificant" we might be, we will fight, we will sacrifice, and we will find a way. That's what humans do."
— Commander Shepard, Mass Effect 2
"The turians insist that Palaven is not lost—the battle has merely moved to the ground. Reaper troop transports have dumped hordes of husks to capture Palaven's inhabitants, but met with little success. Reaper capital ships are destroying city after city. But much of the turian fleet is still operable, and the citizenry is heavily armed. The turians refuse to be intimidated."
— Codex Entry: The Battle of Palaven, Mass Effect 3
"If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die historic on the fury road!"
— Nux, Mad Max: Fury Road
"Your last chance
Last summer
Your last dance
Beat to your own drummer
Go out fighting
Go out young
A flash of lightning
Eclipse the sun"
Last summer
Your last dance
Beat to your own drummer
Go out fighting
Go out young
A flash of lightning
Eclipse the sun"
— Madeon, "Finale
"
""Well, I can't say I'm happy to return to that guy, but him seeing me again should at least piss him off."
[Later in the fight]
"Well, I'm out of rockets, but I want to unload everything. It's better to die in a low-gravity ballet trying to kill an Elder God than... well, that's my only option, really."
"I'm not going to lie to you, the odds are a million to one, and that's with some generous rounding. Still, though, let's get mad! If we're going to explode, let's at least explode with some dignity."
— GLaDOS, Portal 2
M'Baku: This will be the end of Wakanda.
Okoye: Then it will be the noblest ending in history.
Okoye: Then it will be the noblest ending in history.
I will not let God decide MY fate!
— Kraven the Hunter, Marvel's Spider-Man 2
The enemy ascended beyond your control,
or was that all your intention?
They have managed to demolish whatever we made,
you're failing to comprehend...
If they can, they will easily butcher you whole,
while you're blinded by your depression.
I have gotten to the point where I'm just too afraid
that you're going to meet your end.
My screams echo out through the fire,
And your rival dares stand in my way...
Yes, this is a hardship most dire,
and one day you will heed what I say
This is my message to my master:
this is a fight you cannot win.
I think that past your great disasters,
their victory stirs below your skin.
If you proceed, I will not blame you;
I will move forth and win your war.
But if I should die before you continue,
You shall have heard my final dying roar.
or was that all your intention?
They have managed to demolish whatever we made,
you're failing to comprehend...
If they can, they will easily butcher you whole,
while you're blinded by your depression.
I have gotten to the point where I'm just too afraid
that you're going to meet your end.
My screams echo out through the fire,
And your rival dares stand in my way...
Yes, this is a hardship most dire,
and one day you will heed what I say
This is my message to my master:
this is a fight you cannot win.
I think that past your great disasters,
their victory stirs below your skin.
If you proceed, I will not blame you;
I will move forth and win your war.
But if I should die before you continue,
You shall have heard my final dying roar.
Myers: You're going to dismantle the bomb. I'll be your assistant.
Stiles: What!? I can't do that!
Myers: ... So you'd rather do nothing? Are you going to sit here and cry for help like everyone else? Tch... Screw that. If this doesn't work, at least we can say we tried.
Stiles: I... I'm ready.
Stiles: What!? I can't do that!
Myers: ... So you'd rather do nothing? Are you going to sit here and cry for help like everyone else? Tch... Screw that. If this doesn't work, at least we can say we tried.
Stiles: I... I'm ready.
— Trauma Center: Under the Knife
"Odds seemed really good that I was going to get killed, whether I tried to face him or not. To hell with it, then. If I was going to go out, it wasn't going to be while I was lying around moaning and bitching about how useless it all was. If Victor Sells wanted to take out Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, he was going to have to shove his magic right down my throat."
— Harry Dresden, The Dresden Files: Storm Front
Lapis: That's why we can't fight them.
Steven: That's why we have to fight them!
Steven: That's why we have to fight them!
Gilgamesh: At that point, I foresaw the future and told my people: "Uruk will be destroyed in six months. This doom cannot be averted." There's no need to say what came after that. You saw all of it with your own eyes.
Fujimaru: The people of Uruk knew-
Mash: And they still fought. They tried their hardest to survive till the last day.
Mash: And they still fought. They tried their hardest to survive till the last day.
Ray Delgado: I've learned that when Death stares right at you, and smiles its big ol' toothy grin- the best thing to do is smile right back at the fucker.
Y'shtola: So, Sharlayan would keep its council while the world is lost to ruin?
Fourchenault Leveilleur: It would. Come what may, we shall live on. We must.
Y'shtola: Do as you must, then, but we Scions will continue to fight, until the heavens fall, until out last breath!
Fourchenault Leveilleur: It would. Come what may, we shall live on. We must.
Y'shtola: Do as you must, then, but we Scions will continue to fight, until the heavens fall, until out last breath!
— Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
"How would your life play out, if you knew the exact day you were going to die? If every moment of your existence revolved around its ending? I had to do everything in my power to save myself. I know my actions are not entirely moral.. Perhaps not even justifiable. But I cannot just let myself die, I refuse to go without a fight. So, young crow.. Are you ready to fight for your life, as I am for mine?"
— The Final Boss, Death's Door
The Forsaken think we're weak, a broken people. They think we'll roll over like a scared dog... how wrong they are... We will fight them in the fields until the last trench collapses and the last cannon is silenced. We will fight them on the streets until the last shot is fired, and when there is no more ammunition, we'll crush their skulls with the stones that pave our city. We will fight them in the alleys until our knuckles are skinned and bloodied, and our rapiers lay on the ground, shattered. And if we find ourselves surrounded and disarmed, wounded and without hope; we will lift our heads in defiance and spit in their faces. BUT WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER! FOR GILNEAS!
— Prince Liam Greymane before launching an attack to retake Gilneas City, World of Warcraft
I know I can never defeat you, lobo. But I will never stop fighting for this life.
—Puss in Boots to Death himself, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
I do not doubt your visions. But what do they change? Shall we stare up at the shadows and let our blades fall from our hands? Know this, son of Magnus. There is more under the arch of heaven than victory and defeat. We may fall back, but not forever. We may feint and we may weave, but not forever. We may yet be doomed to lose all we cherish, but we shall do so in the knowledge that we could have turned away, and did not. We remained true. They can never have this, not if they burn all we ever built and scorn us through the dancing flames. You hear me? We remained true.
—Jaghatai Khan, Horus Heresy: The Path of Heaven
Rimmer: (Gesturing at the metal pipe) Lister, what's that for?
Lister: I'm going out like I came in. Screaming and kicking.
Rimmer: You can't whack death on the head.
Lister: If it comes near me, I'm gonna rip its nipples off.
Lister: I'm going out like I came in. Screaming and kicking.
Rimmer: You can't whack death on the head.
Lister: If it comes near me, I'm gonna rip its nipples off.
— Red Dwarf, "Future Echoes"
Real Life
"I [would] rather die on my feet than live upon my knees."
— First said by Emiliano Zapata, popularized by later revolutionaries such as Dolores Ibárruri.
"In God's name, if it is absolutely necessary to declare either for peace or war, and the former can not be preserved with honour, why is not the latter commenced without delay? I am not, I confess, well informed as to the resources of this kingdom, but I trust it has still sufficient to maintain its just rights, though I know them not. But, my Lords, any state is better than despair. Let us at least make one effort, and, if we must fall, let us fall like men!"
— William Pitt The Elder, during the American Revolution
"Whether or not a woman should give an example of courage to men, is neither here nor there. At a moment of desperate danger one must do what one can. I think that flight, even if it brings us to safety, is not in our interest. Every man born to see the light of day must die. But that one who has been emperor should become an exile I cannot bear. May I never be without the purple I wear, nor live to see the day when men do not call me "Your Majesty." If you wish safety, my Lord, that is an easy matter. We are rich, and there is the sea, and yonder our ships. But consider whether if you reach safety you may not desire to exchange that safety for death. As for me, I like the old saying, that the purple is the noblest shroud."
— Empress Theodora, during the Nika Riots
"Hitler is plotting to annihilate all the Jews of Europe. It befell the Jews of Lithuania to be the first in line. Let us not go like sheep to the slaughter! It's true, we are weak and defenseless, but the only response to the enemy is resistance! Brothers! It is better to die as free fighters than to live at the mercy of murderers. Resist! To our last breath."
— Abba Kovner, in a pamphlet from 1942, warning Eastern-European Jews about The Holocaust
, in a pamphlet from 1942, warning Eastern-European Jews about The Holocaust"A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."
— Lt. Cmdr Robert W. Copeland to the crew of USS Samuel B. Roberts, immediately before the Battle off Samar
"You call it struggling in vain, I call it raging against the dying of the light. There's a difference."
— Woolie Madden, during the finale of the Death Stranding playthrough.
"God forbid that I should live as an Emperor without an Empire. As my city falls, I will fall with it. Whosoever wishes to escape, let him save himself if he can, and whoever is ready to face death, let him follow me."
— Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Roman (Byzantine) Emperor, during the fall of Constantinople
