Gluttony has killed more than the sword.
Gluttony has killed more than the sword.
Meaning in plain English
The comparison warns about unchecked appetite by portraying it as more destructive than open violence. It is rhetorical emphasis, not a reliable comparison of deaths or a dietary rule.
Example
A club reviews a spending habit that repeatedly exhausts its resources instead of dismissing it as harmless because no single purchase looks dramatic.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The sword represents conspicuous danger, while gluttony represents an excess that might be treated as ordinary enjoyment. The contrast asks a reader to notice harms that can arise from an unchecked habit even when it does not look threatening. It cannot establish how many people have died from either cause. Use the broader idea to examine a pattern that is crowding out judgement or wellbeing, rather than to shame a person’s body or meals. The appropriate response depends on circumstances, support and the habit in question.
When to use it
Use it as a qualified warning about an unchecked appetite or excess.
Keep in mind
Do not turn the historical exaggeration into medical advice, mortality statistics or an insult about someone’s body.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857)
Printed page 29; French section, paragraph 571; source wording: La gourmandise a tué plus de gens que l’épée.
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗