In the evening I came home and read about the Messina earthquake, and how the relief ships arrived, and the wretched survivors crowded down to the water's edge and tore each other like wild beasts in their rage of hunger. The paper set forth, in horrified language, that some of them had been seventy-two hours without food. I, as I read, had also been seventy-two hours without food; and the difference was simply that they thought they were starving. Upton Sinclair
About This Quote

Charles Dickens was writing about the Messina earthquake of 1908. The earthquake destroyed the town of Messina, Sicily, killing 25,000 people. When the relief ships arrived, the survivors were so desperate for food that they attacked each other. People who are starving can become very dangerous and violent, even to their own families. But, Dickens’ point is that if you are hungry for two whole days, you will feel much worse than that person who is starving for just one day.

Source: The Fasting Cure

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