--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greatest crimes do not arise from a…" description: "\"The greatest crimes do not arise from a want of feeling for others but from an over-sensibility for ourselves and an over-indulgence to our own desires..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/anonymous-1_crime_the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a_1011476.jpg" --- # The greatest crimes do not arise from a want of feeling… ![“The greatest crimes do not arise from a want of feeling for others but from an over-sensibility for ourselves and an over-indulgence to our own desires” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/anonymous-1_crime_the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a_1011476.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/anonymous-1_crime_the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a_1011476.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/anonymous-1_crime_the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a_1011476.jpg) > “The greatest crimes do not arise from a want of feeling for others but from an over-sensibility for ourselves and an over-indulgence to our own desires” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that excessive self‑absorption and indulgence are more harmful than lack of empathy. **In simple terms:** Self‑obsession harms more than indifference. Key Takeaway Check your motives and curb selfish cravings. Themes selfishness desire self‑awareness Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - leadership - ethical decision making Key Concepts egoism over‑indulgence psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does your desire affect others? - Can self‑control improve community? A Different Perspective Self‑interest can be justified in survival contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Crimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crimes/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ## Related quotes > [The greatest crimes do not arise from a want of feeling for others but from an over-sensibilit y for ourselves and an over-indulgence to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a-want-of-feeling-for-others-2/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules, but by people following the rules.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-crimes-in-the-world-are-not-committed-by-people-breaking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The greatest of all crimes are the wars that are carried on by governments, to plunder, enslave, and destroy mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/the-greatest-of-all-crimes-are-the-wars-that-are-carried-on-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [The greatest crimes are to associate another with God, to vex your father and mother, to murder your own species, to commit suicide, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad/the-greatest-crimes-are-to-associate-another-with-god-to-vex-your/) [Muhammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad/) > [It is the greatest of crimes to depress true art and science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/it-is-the-greatest-of-crimes-to-depress-true-art-and-science/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“The greatest crimes in the world are not committed against the body, but against the freedom of the consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/the-greatest-crimes-in-the-world-are-not-committed-against-the-body/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [People do peculiar things in life and they do for whatever reason but I think one of the greatest crimes in life is when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/people-do-peculiar-things-in-life-and-they-do-for-whatever-reason-but/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [The desire to rule over others, the will to power, is one of the greatest crimes that man has committed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-desire-to-rule-over-others-the-will-to-power-is-one-of-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules. It's people who follow orders that drop bombs and massacre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/the-greatest-crimes-in-the-world-are-not-committed-by-people-breaking-3/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [The greatest crimes in the world are not committed by people breaking the rules but by people following the rules. It's people who follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/the-greatest-crimes-in-the-world-are-not-committed-by-people-breaking-2/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [The destruction of the past is perhaps the greatest of all crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/the-destruction-of-the-past-is-perhaps-the-greatest-of-all-crimes/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [The greatest crimes are caused by surfeit, not by want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-greatest-crimes-are-caused-by-surfeit-not-by-want/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“The greatest crimes are not those committed for the sake of necessity but those committed for the sake of superfluity. One does not become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-greatest-crimes-are-not-those-committed-for-the-sake-of-necessity/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [In the name of certainty, the greatest crimes have been committed against humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/in-the-name-of-certainty-the-greatest-crimes-have-been-committed/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [“men are guilty of the greatest crimes from ambition, and not from necessity,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/men-are-guilty-of-the-greatest-crimes-from-ambition-and-not-from/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Crime quotes > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“The jailers, the Court, everyone in that building – it wasn’t about justice; it was about obedience and intimidation…about maintaining order. Fear accomplished that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-allan/the-jailers-the-court-everyone-in-that-building-it-wasn-t-about/) [Jay Allan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-allan/) > [Taking notes while watching Forensic Files and Snapped. I don't want to make the same mistakes the criminals do! ;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/taking-notes-while-watching-forensic-files-and-snapped-i-don-t-want/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/nations-sometimes-flourish-by-denying-the-crimes-that-brought-them/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Too much virtue can be criminal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-racine/too-much-virtue-can-be-criminal/) [Jean Racine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-racine/) > [The federal prison population increased by almost 800 percent between 1980 and 2013, often at a far faster rate than the Bureau of Prisons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-yates/the-federal-prison-population-increased-by-almost-800-percent-between/) [Sally Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-yates/) > [ \[P\]rogress, however, has not sufficiently infiltrated the Interior Ministry, affording protection to those who participated in the Bytyqi murders and other egregious Milosevic-era crimes. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avis-bohlen/p-rogress-however-has-not-sufficiently-infiltrated-the-interior/) Avis Bohlen [Browse all 8,359 Crime quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The greatest crimes do not arise from a want of feeling for others but from an over-sensibility for ourselves and an over-indulgence to our own desires", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a-want-of-feeling-for-others/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crime" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a-want-of-feeling-for-others/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/anonymous-1_crime_the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a_1011476.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/anonymous-1_crime_the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a_1011476.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/anonymous-1_crime_the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a_1011476.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The greatest crimes do not arise from a want of feeling for others but from an over-sensibility for…” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The greatest crimes do not arise...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a-want-of-feeling-for-others/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-greatest-crimes-do-not-arise-from-a-want-of-feeling-for-others/#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 } } ] } ```