Nobody likes the man who brings bad news.

The line captures a durable social reflex: people often transfer their anger, fear, or disappointment about misfortune onto the person who reports it. The “messenger” becomes a convenient target because confronting the real cause of the bad news may be harder, riskier, or impossible. In tragedy this dynamic is especially pointed—truth arrives through witnesses, heralds, or servants, and the audience watches how power reacts to unwelcome reality. The sentiment also implies a moral warning: if societies punish bearers of truth, they incentivize silence and flattery, making catastrophe more likely. Its endurance reflects how frequently institutions and individuals prefer comforting narratives over painful facts.