--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: O! useful may it be to have shewn, that…" description: "\"O! useful may it be to have shewn, that, though the vicious can sometimes pour affliction upon the good, their power is transient and their punishment ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/ann-radcliffe-7558_affliction_o-useful-may-it-be-to-have-shewn-that-th_757041.jpg" --- # O! useful may it be to have shewn, that, though the… ![“O! useful may it be to have shewn, that, though the vicious can sometimes pour affliction upon the good, their power is transient and their punishment certain; and that innocence, though oppressed by injustice, shall, supported by patience, finally triumph over misfortune!And, if the weak hand…” quote by Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/ann-radcliffe-7558_affliction_o-useful-may-it-be-to-have-shewn-that-th_757041.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/ann-radcliffe-7558_affliction_o-useful-may-it-be-to-have-shewn-that-th_757041.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/ann-radcliffe-7558_affliction_o-useful-may-it-be-to-have-shewn-that-th_757041.jpg) > “O! useful may it be to have shewn, that, though the vicious can sometimes pour affliction upon the good, their power is transient and their punishment certain; and that innocence, though oppressed by injustice, shall, supported by patience, finally triumph over misfortune!And, if the weak hand, that has recorded this tale, has, by its scenes, beguiled the mourner of one hour of sorrow, or, by its moral, taught him to sustain it—the effort, however humble, has not been vain, nor is the writer unrewarded.” [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even when evil harms the good, its power is temporary and justice, aided by patience, will ultimately prevail. **In simple terms:** Patience and justice overcome oppression. Key Takeaway Trust that patience leads to justice. Themes justice patience virtue Mood hopeful reflective Type moral inspirational When to use this quote - legal advocacy - personal hardship - social activism Key Concepts moral philosophy resilience karma Questions to Reflect On - What role does active resistance play? - How can we support the oppressed now? A Different Perspective Patience alone may not stop immediate suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affliction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Effort Humble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort-humble-4277269/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Humble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humble/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Injustice Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice-shall-982680/) [Innocence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocence/) [Innocence Oppressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocence-oppressed-5877891/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Misfortunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortunes/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Oppressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressed/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punishment/) [Scene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scene/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Sorrow Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow-moral-4277270/) [Supported Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supported-patience-5877892/) [Tales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tales/) [Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) [Vicious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vicious/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) ## Related quotes > [If the weak hand, that has recorded this tale, has, by its scenes, beguiled the mourner of one hour of sorrow, or, by its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/if-the-weak-hand-that-has-recorded-this-tale-has-by-its-scenes/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [There's times when you see people climbing and getting success and you start to see, oh, they're starting to really change. So I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-aniston/there-s-times-when-you-see-people-climbing-and-getting-success-and/) [Jennifer Aniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-aniston/) > [All that the law can do is to shape things so that no injustice shall be done by one to the other, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/all-that-the-law-can-do-is-to-shape-things-so-that-no-injustice-shall/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [I'm the freaky version of that superhero who says, wherever there is injustice, I shall be there. Whenever there is a difficult project, I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/i-m-the-freaky-version-of-that-superhero-who-says-wherever-there-is/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [“I cannot be silent about injustice. And I shall keep doing so because I love life, and I love my fellow humans who inhabit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-shah/i-cannot-be-silent-about-injustice-and-i-shall-keep-doing-so-because/) [Hannah Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-shah/) > [“God is neither in the form of justice nor injustice. 'No one shall be hurt' is what the God's language says. Justice-injustice is people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/god-is-neither-in-the-form-of-justice-nor-injustice-no-one-shall-be/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/may-i-strike-my-heart-s-keys-clearly-and-may-none-fail-because-of/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Aimee Parkison offers a distinct new voice to contemporary fiction. Her seductive stories explore childhood as a realm of sorrows, and reveal the afflictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-anshaw/aimee-parkison-offers-a-distinct-new-voice-to-contemporary-fiction/) [Carol Anshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-anshaw/) > [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Henceforth, I'll bear Affliction till it do cry out itself, 'Enough, enough, and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/henceforth-i-ll-bear-affliction-till-it-do-cry-out-itself-enough/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/come-then-affliction-if-my-father-wills-and-be-my-frowning-friend-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-nothing-in-afflictions-which-ought-to-disturb-our-joy/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [I don't feel insecure about any of this work anymore. Maybe I don't have what I had when I was younger. I'm not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/i-don-t-feel-insecure-about-any-of-this-work-anymore-maybe-i-don-t/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) ## More by Ann Radcliffe > [Wisdom can boast no higher attainment than happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/wisdom-can-boast-no-higher-attainment-than-happiness/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [“Towards evening, they wound down precipices, black with forest of cypress, pine and cedar, into a glen so savage and secluded, that, if Solicitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/towards-evening-they-wound-down-precipices-black-with-forest-of/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [“At some distance from the tribunal stood a large iron frame, which Vivaldi conjectured to be the rack, and near it another, resembling, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/at-some-distance-from-the-tribunal-stood-a-large-iron-frame-which/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [I ought not to doubt the steadiness of your affection. Yet such is the inconsistency of real love, that it is always awake to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/i-ought-not-to-doubt-the-steadiness-of-your-affection-yet-such-is-the/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [How strange it is, that a fool or knave, with riches, should be treated with more respect by the world, than a good man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/how-strange-it-is-that-a-fool-or-knave-with-riches-should-be-treated/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [“She had passed the spring of youth, but her wit prolonged the triumph of its reign, and they mutually assisted the fame of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/she-had-passed-the-spring-of-youth-but-her-wit-prolonged-the-triumph/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [“My dear sir,’ said Emily, timidly, ‘what mean those tears?’—they speak, I fear, another language—they plead for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/my-dear-sir-said-emily-timidly-what-mean-those-tears-they-speak-i/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [“And yet I fear you; for you are fatal then, When your eyes roll so. Alas! why gnaw you so your nether lip? Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/and-yet-i-fear-you-for-you-are-fatal-then-when-your-eyes-roll-so-alas/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [“Why all this terror?' said he, in a tremulous voice. 'Hear me, Emily: I come not to alarm you; no, by Heaven! I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/why-all-this-terror-said-he-in-a-tremulous-voice-hear-me-emily-i-come/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [I wish that all those, who on this night are not merry enough to speak before they think, may ever after be grave enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/i-wish-that-all-those-who-on-this-night-are-not-merry-enough-to-speak/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [Virtue and taste are nearly the same, for virtue is little more than active taste, and the most delicate affections of each combine in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/virtue-and-taste-are-nearly-the-same-for-virtue-is-little-more-than/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [“She wanted to complain, not to be consoled; and it was by exclamations of complaint only, Emily learned the particular circumstances of her affliction”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/she-wanted-to-complain-not-to-be-consoled-and-it-was-by-exclamations/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [“I dare not say what that fate would be,” interrupted the father, “or what my own, should I consent to assist you; but, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/i-dare-not-say-what-that-fate-would-be-interrupted-the-father-or-what/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [What are riches - grandeur - health itself, to the luxury of a pure conscience, the health of the soul; - and what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/what-are-riches-grandeur-health-itself-to-the-luxury-of-a-pure/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [Do you believe your heart to be, indeed, so hardened, that you can look without emotion on the suffering, to which you would condemn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/do-you-believe-your-heart-to-be-indeed-so-hardened-that-you-can-look/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) [Explore all 90 Ann Radcliffe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) ## More Affliction quotes > [I don't feel insecure about any of this work anymore. Maybe I don't have what I had when I was younger. I'm not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/i-don-t-feel-insecure-about-any-of-this-work-anymore-maybe-i-don-t/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [WHANGDEPOOTENAWAH, n. In the Ojibwa tongue, disaster; an unexpected affliction that strikes hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/whangdepootenawah-n-in-the-ojibwa-tongue-disaster-an-unexpected/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [There is nothing in afflictions which ought to disturb our joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/there-is-nothing-in-afflictions-which-ought-to-disturb-our-joy/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/come-then-affliction-if-my-father-wills-and-be-my-frowning-friend-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Henceforth, I'll bear Affliction till it do cry out itself, 'Enough, enough, and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/henceforth-i-ll-bear-affliction-till-it-do-cry-out-itself-enough/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [New materials are one of the great afflictions of contemporary art. Some artists confuse new materials with new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/new-materials-are-one-of-the-great-afflictions-of-contemporary-art/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Aimee Parkison offers a distinct new voice to contemporary fiction. Her seductive stories explore childhood as a realm of sorrows, and reveal the afflictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-anshaw/aimee-parkison-offers-a-distinct-new-voice-to-contemporary-fiction/) [Carol Anshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-anshaw/) > [May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/may-i-strike-my-heart-s-keys-clearly-and-may-none-fail-because-of/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [We are infinitely more than our limitations and afflictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/we-are-infinitely-more-than-our-limitations-and-afflictions/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [God measures out affliction to our need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/god-measures-out-affliction-to-our-need/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [Afflictions make the heart more deep, more experimental, more knowing and profound, and so, more able to hold, to contain, and beat more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/afflictions-make-the-heart-more-deep-more-experimental-more-knowing/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [Religion prescribes to every miserable man the means of bettering his condition; nay, it shows him that the bearing of his afflictions as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/religion-prescribes-to-every-miserable-man-the-means-of-bettering-his/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Revolution will free society of its afflictions, while science will free the individual of his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/revolution-will-free-society-of-its-afflictions-while-science-will/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) [Browse all 598 Affliction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affliction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "O! useful may it be to have shewn, that, though the vicious can sometimes pour affliction upon the good, their power is transient and their punishment certain; and that innocence, though oppressed by injustice, shall, supported by patience, finally triumph over misfortune!And, if the weak hand, that has recorded this tale, has, by its scenes, beguiled the mourner of one hour of sorrow, or, by its moral, taught him to sustain it—the effort, however humble, has not been vain, nor is the writer unrewarded.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ann Radcliffe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/o-useful-may-it-be-to-have-shewn-that-though-the-vicious-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affliction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/o-useful-may-it-be-to-have-shewn-that-though-the-vicious-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/ann-radcliffe-7558_affliction_o-useful-may-it-be-to-have-shewn-that-th_757041.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/ann-radcliffe-7558_affliction_o-useful-may-it-be-to-have-shewn-that-th_757041.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/ann-radcliffe-7558_affliction_o-useful-may-it-be-to-have-shewn-that-th_757041.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“O! useful may it be to have shewn, that, though the vicious can sometimes pour affliction upon the good…” — Ann Radcliffe", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ann Radcliffe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "O! useful may it be to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/o-useful-may-it-be-to-have-shewn-that-though-the-vicious-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/o-useful-may-it-be-to-have-shewn-that-though-the-vicious-can/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```