--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: States are doomed when they are unable to…" description: "\"States are doomed when they are unable to distinguish good men from bad.\" — Antisthenes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/antisthenes-24350_doomed_states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-t_1503451.png" --- # States are doomed when they are unable to distinguish good… ![“States are doomed when they are unable to distinguish good men from bad.” quote by Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/antisthenes-24350_doomed_states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-t_1503451.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/antisthenes-24350_doomed_states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-t_1503451.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/antisthenes-24350_doomed_states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-t_1503451.png) > “States are doomed when they are unable to distinguish good men from bad.” [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A society collapses when it cannot tell virtuous people from corrupt ones. **In simple terms:** Bad judgment harms a state. Key Takeaway Cultivate discernment of character. Themes justice leadership society morality Mood reflective serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - voting - hiring - leadership selection - community building Key Concepts ethics political theory character assessment Questions to Reflect On - How do you evaluate character? - What safeguards can prevent misjudgment? A Different Perspective Human bias can obscure true character. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Good men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-men/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [“There ought to be some mark by which to distinguish good people from bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/there-ought-to-be-some-mark-by-which-to-distinguish-good-people-from/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [To put it simply, when you assert that there is such a thing as evil, you must assume there is such a thing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-turek/to-put-it-simply-when-you-assert-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as-evil/) [Frank Turek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-turek/) > [It seems to me to be important to distinguish a good idea from poor implementations of it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-jeffries/it-seems-to-me-to-be-important-to-distinguish-a-good-idea-from-poor/) [Ron Jeffries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-jeffries/) > [“A high-quality asset can constitute a good or bad buy, and a low-quality asset can constitute a good or bad buy. The tendency to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-marks/a-high-quality-asset-can-constitute-a-good-or-bad-buy-and-a-low/) [Howard Marks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-marks/) > [The generation now coming out of Western schools is unable to distinguish good from bad. Even those words are unacceptable. This results in impaired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/the-generation-now-coming-out-of-western-schools-is-unable-to/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [The soul doesn't distinguish between good and bad as much as between what is nutritious and what isn't. Finding the right work is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-moore/the-soul-doesn-t-distinguish-between-good-and-bad-as-much-as-between/) [Thomas Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-moore/) > [“Live and work in peace and harmony with yourself and with others. Always try to distinguish good from evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karsten-thormaehlen/live-and-work-in-peace-and-harmony-with-yourself-and-with-others/) [Karsten Thormaehlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karsten-thormaehlen/) > [It's not always that easy to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys. Sinners can surprise you. And the same is true for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-alice/it-s-not-always-that-easy-to-distinguish-the-good-guys-from-the-bad/) [Mary Alice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-alice/) > [People who cannot distinguish between good and bad language, or who regard the distinction as unimportant, are unlikely to think carefully about anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-who-cannot-distinguish-between-good-and-bad-language-or-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Just as you do not need to be a director to detect a bad movie, you do not need economics, finance, or any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-as-you-do-not-need-to-be-a-director-to-detect-a-bad-movie-you-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The second is a persistent application to the serious and diligent examination of every object in order to distinguish the good from the evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dom-lorenzo-scupoli/the-second-is-a-persistent-application-to-the-serious-and-diligent/) Dom Lorenzo Scupoli > [They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-orlov/they-say-evil-prevails-when-good-men-fail-to-act-what-they-ought-to/) [Yuri Orlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-orlov/) > [Heaven prepares good men with crosses; but no ill can happen to a good man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/heaven-prepares-good-men-with-crosses-but-no-ill-can-happen-to-a-good/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Greetings, O Great Gazoo. How nice of you to join us here on planet Earth again. (Cael) Thanks, Barney. How’s Betty and Bam Bam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/greetings-o-great-gazoo-how-nice-of-you-to-join-us-here-on-planet/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Biographies of great, but especially of good men are most instructive and useful as helps, guides, and incentives to others. Some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/biographies-of-great-but-especially-of-good-men-are-most-instructive/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) ## More by Antisthenes > [Wealth and poverty do not lie in a man's estate, but in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/wealth-and-poverty-do-not-lie-in-a-man-s-estate-but-in-men-s-souls/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [I'd rather be mad than feel pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/i-d-rather-be-mad-than-feel-pleasure/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [There are only two people who can tell you the truth about yourself - an enemy who has lost his temper and a friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/there-are-only-two-people-who-can-tell-you-the-truth-about-yourself/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [The investigation of the meaning of words is the beginning of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/the-investigation-of-the-meaning-of-words-is-the-beginning-of/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [“Virtue . . . is the same for men and for women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/virtue-is-the-same-for-men-and-for-women/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [The advantages of philosophy? That I am able to hold converse with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/the-advantages-of-philosophy-that-i-am-able-to-hold-converse-with/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [It is better to fall in with crows than with flatterers; for in the one case you are devoured when dead, in the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/it-is-better-to-fall-in-with-crows-than-with-flatterers-for-in-the/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/as-iron-is-eaten-away-by-rust-so-the-envious-are-consumed-by-their/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [I am sadly afraid that I must have done some wicked thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/i-am-sadly-afraid-that-i-must-have-done-some-wicked-thing/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [As rust corrupts iron, so envy corrupts man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/as-rust-corrupts-iron-so-envy-corrupts-man/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [Royalty does good and is badly spoken of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/royalty-does-good-and-is-badly-spoken-of/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [Observe your enemies, for they first find out your faults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/observe-your-enemies-for-they-first-find-out-your-faults/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [We weed out the darnel from the corn and the unfit in war, but do not excuse evil men from the service of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/we-weed-out-the-darnel-from-the-corn-and-the-unfit-in-war-but-do-not/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [The most useful piece of learning for the uses of life is to unlearn what is untrue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/the-most-useful-piece-of-learning-for-the-uses-of-life-is-to-unlearn/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) > [The most necessary learning is that which unlearns evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/the-most-necessary-learning-is-that-which-unlearns-evil/) [Antisthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) [Explore all 23 Antisthenes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/) ## More Doomed quotes > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [I didn't have any role models. I really thought I was doomed to this loveless, lonely life. I didn't know any gay people until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-batt/i-didn-t-have-any-role-models-i-really-thought-i-was-doomed-to-this/) [Bryan Batt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-batt/) > [“Despite which, Charlie seems doomed to stumble around in the dark, clutching pieces of a puzzle he still can't see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/despite-which-charlie-seems-doomed-to-stumble-around-in-the-dark/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [Monotheism is in its turn doomed to subtract one more God and become atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-warraq/monotheism-is-in-its-turn-doomed-to-subtract-one-more-god-and-become/) [Ibn Warraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-warraq/) > [“Why are we doomed to crave most that which we cannot have?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-are-we-doomed-to-crave-most-that-which-we-cannot-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm doomed! And all 'cause Miss Man decides to take her little drag show on the road. -Mushu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mulan/i-m-doomed-and-all-cause-miss-man-decides-to-take-her-little-drag/) [Mulan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mulan/) > [It is important for investors to understand what they do and don't know. Learn to recognize that you cannot possibly know what is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/it-is-important-for-investors-to-understand-what-they-do-and-don-t/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [O Logic: born gatekeeper to the Temple of Science, victim of capricious destiny: doomed hitherto to be the drudge of pedants: come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/o-logic-born-gatekeeper-to-the-temple-of-science-victim-of-capricious/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [For the planet's sake, I hope we have bird flu or some other thing that will reduce the population, because otherwise we're doomed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-blackmore/for-the-planet-s-sake-i-hope-we-have-bird-flu-or-some-other-thing/) [Susan Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-blackmore/) > [The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-enemy-s-spies-who-have-come-to-spy-on-us-must-be-sought-out/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I do honestly think that if women were running the world there would be more investment in peace, because basically as women we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/i-do-honestly-think-that-if-women-were-running-the-world-there-would/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [When you think that most of us are doomed by divine grace to roast in hell, to say nothing of mortgages and hail and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/when-you-think-that-most-of-us-are-doomed-by-divine-grace-to-roast-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [I am doomed or fortunate to stick to what I do best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-sobule/i-am-doomed-or-fortunate-to-stick-to-what-i-do-best/) [Jill Sobule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-sobule/) Browse all 648 Doomed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "States are doomed when they are unable to distinguish good men from bad.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antisthenes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-to-distinguish-good-men-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doomed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-to-distinguish-good-men-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/antisthenes-24350_doomed_states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-t_1503451.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/antisthenes-24350_doomed_states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-t_1503451.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/antisthenes-24350_doomed_states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-t_1503451.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“States are doomed when they are unable to distinguish good men from bad.” — Antisthenes", "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": "Antisthenes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antisthenes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "States are doomed when they are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-to-distinguish-good-men-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antisthenes/states-are-doomed-when-they-are-unable-to-distinguish-good-men-from/#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 } } ] } ```