I began writing when I was still in the British Foreign Service, and it was then understood that even if you wrote about butterfly collecting, you used another name.
John Le CarreRead
Cheats, liars and criminals may resist every blandishment while respectable gentlemen have been moved to appalling treasons by watery cabbage in a departmental canteen.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that even the most honorable individuals can be led to betrayal under certain circumstances, while wrongdoers may remain unaffected.
John Le Carre's quote highlights the vulnerability of human ethics and integrity in the face of mundane temptations or dire situations. It illustrates that moral compromises can arise from seemingly trivial influences, and that even those considered 'respectable' can succumb to treachery when pushed by circumstances, such as dissatisfaction with a basic aspect of life, represented here by 'watery cabbage' in the canteen. This calls into question the sturdiness of personal integrity and the multifaceted nature of human behavior.
Themes
BetrayalIntegrityTemptationEthicsHuman Behavior
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the ethics of whistleblowing and how the environment can influence decisions.
More from John Le Carre
All quotes βIn every war zone that I've been in, there has been a reality and then there has been the public perception of why the war was being fought. In every crisis, the issues have been far more complex than the public has been allowed to know.
John Le CarreRead
The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other catβs mat is a story.
John Le CarreRead
The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous.
John Le CarreRead
Coming home from very lonely places, all of us go a little mad: whether from great personal success, or just an all-night drive, we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.
John Le CarreRead
If I had to put a name to it, I would wish that all my books were entertainments. I think the first thing you've got to do is grab the reader by the ear, and make him sit down and listen. Make him laugh, make him feel. We all want to be entertained at a very high level.
John Le CarreRead
Similar quotes
Each person is oriented toward a quest for his personal invisible guide, or . . . he entrusts himself to the collective, magisterial authority as the intermediary between himself and Revelation.
Ibn ArabiRead
We are swimming on the face of time and all else has drowned, is drowning, or will drown.
Henry MillerRead
I want people to remember me as someone whose life has been helpful to humanity.
Thomas SankaraRead
Most people are prisoners, thinking only about the future or living in the past. They are not in the present, and the present is where everything begins.
Carlos SantanaRead
Denunciations of the manipulativeness of advertisers can unfortunately all too easily be turned on their heads into denunciations of the gullibility of consumers. Both are forms of scapegoating, neither accomplishes anything.
J. M. CoetzeeRead
I don't know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I'm some sort of Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.
Henri MatisseRead