What does the truth matter? Haven't we mothers all given our sons a taste for lies, lies which from the cradle upwards lull them, reassure them, send them to sleep: lies as soft and warm as a breast!
Georges BernanosRead
The first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive is that the end justifies the means.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights that when a society believes that any action is acceptable if it leads to a desired result, it shows moral decay.
Georges Bernanos' quote suggests that a society that prioritizes outcomes over ethical methods is experiencing a form of corruption. This principle, often seen in political and social contexts, indicates a loss of moral compass where individuals justify unethical actions if they can achieve a favorable result, ultimately leading to societal decay.
Themes
CorruptionSocietyEthicsMeansEndsMorality
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about political ethics, this quote can illustrate the dangers of pragmatism.
More from Georges Bernanos
All quotes βFear, true fear, is a savage frenzy. Of all the insanities of which we are capable, it is surely the cruelest. There is naught to equal its drive, and naught can survive its thrust.
Georges BernanosRead
I know the compassion of others is a relief at first. I don't despise it. But it can't quench pain, it slips through your soul as through a sieve. And when our suffering has been dragged from one pity to another, as from one mouth to another, we can no longer respect or love it.
Georges BernanosRead
It's a fine thing to rise above pride, but you must have pride in order to do so.
Georges BernanosRead
Hell, madame, is to love no longer.
Georges BernanosRead
God! how is it that we fail to recognize that the mask of pleasure, stripped of all hypocrisy, is that of anguish?
Georges BernanosRead
Similar quotes
It is true that men themselves made this world of nations... but this world without doubt has issued from a mind often diverse, at times quite contrary, and always superior to the particular ends that men had proposed to themselves.
Giambattista VicoRead
When I read the Upanishads, which are part of Vedanta, I found a profundity of worldview that made my Christianity seem like third grade.
Huston SmithRead
Dawn: When men of reason go to bed.
Ambrose BierceRead
I don't know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.
Abraham LincolnRead
There are some dead who are more alive than the living.
Romain RollandRead
People who have a sense of peace that their priorities are in the right place also have a sense of humility and a realistic view on life.
Patrick LencioniRead