In Cold Blood - Francois's Quote

The quote by Francois Villon in the beginning of “In Cold Blood” is translated to “Brothers that live when we are dead, don't set yourself against us too. If you could pity us instead, then God may sooner pity you.” Capote probably put this quote before the story to show that he read Francois’s book. I think the quote asks for the reader’s sympathy. Capote probably wants the reader to feel encouraged to consider feelings of sympathy for the two men that were hanged, in other words to apply the message. It could be that Capote put this quote to show how he felt about the book. I believe he did this so that the reader will have something to think about before and while reading the book. If this is what Capote wanted the readers to do, I think it worked because his book was successful and I bet most readers were thinking about the quote at the beginning while reading the book (Once they found the translation) and probably learned something from it. I think it really did make the readers think about the book and the quote at the beginning because of the positive reviews of the book, considering it the best crime story in the late1960’s and the 1970’s and it is still considered a good book today.