---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Madness is badness of spirit, when one…"
description: "\"Madness is badness of spirit, when one seeks profit from all sources\" — Aristotle"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/611/aristotle-78_badness_madness-is-badness-of-spirit-when-one-se_737963.png"
---

#  Madness is badness of spirit, when one seeks profit from…

![“Madness is badness of spirit, when one seeks profit from all sources” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/611/aristotle-78_badness_madness-is-badness-of-spirit-when-one-se_737963.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/611/aristotle-78_badness_madness-is-badness-of-spirit-when-one-se_737963.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/611/aristotle-78_badness_madness-is-badness-of-spirit-when-one-se_737963.png)

> “Madness is badness of spirit, when one seeks profit from all sources”

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

It warns that exploiting everything for profit corrupts one's moral character and spirit.

**In simple terms:** Seeking profit everywhere harms the soul.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize ethical values over profit.

Themes

ethics integrity greed

Mood

reflective serious

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- business decisions
- personal finance
- political policy
- environmental exploitation

Key Concepts

moral philosophy virtue ethics

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance profit and principle?
- When does ambition become exploitation?

A Different Perspective

Profit motives can conflict with societal well‑being.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/)

## Related quotes

> [“the kentish week-enders on their way to church were appalled by the sight of four great hounds in full cry after two little girls.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mitford/the-kentish-week-enders-on-their-way-to-church-were-appalled-by-the/)

[Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/)

> [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/)

[Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/)

> [Philosophy cannot be extinguished, though men will try ... The spirit seeks the light, that is its nature. It wishes to return to its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-pears/philosophy-cannot-be-extinguished-though-men-will-try-the-spirit/)

[Iain Pears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-pears/)

> [The ego seeks to divide and separate. Spirit seeks to unify and heal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/the-ego-seeks-to-divide-and-separate-spirit-seeks-to-unify-and-heal/)

[Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/)

> [The spirit seeks the spirit just as matter seeks matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-spirit-seeks-the-spirit-just-as-matter-seeks-matter/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Error is multiform (for evil is a form of the unlimited, as in the old Pythagorean imagery, and good of the limited), whereas success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/error-is-multiform-for-evil-is-a-form-of-the-unlimited-as-in-the-old/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [A bad man can do a million times more harm than a beast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-bad-man-can-do-a-million-times-more-harm-than-a-beast/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The goodness or badness, justice or injustice, of laws varies of necessity with the constitution of states. This, however, is clear, that the laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-goodness-or-badness-justice-or-injustice-of-laws-varies-of/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? If lewdies are good that's because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/they-don-t-go-into-what-is-the-cause-of-goodness-so-why-of-the-other/)

[Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/)

> [The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness but my badness, not my merit but my misery, not my riches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-first-link-between-my-soul-and-christ-is-not-my-goodness-but-my/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [“If you have had a bad day, remember that tomorrow is a wonderful gift and a new chance to try again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/if-you-have-had-a-bad-day-remember-that-tomorrow-is-a-wonderful-gift/)

[Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/)

> [A man of bad character punishes his own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ghazali/a-man-of-bad-character-punishes-his-own-soul/)

[Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ghazali/)

> [I think when you don't know where you stand with someone, they can surprise you in their goodness and their badness, and that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morrissey/i-think-when-you-don-t-know-where-you-stand-with-someone-they-can/)

[David Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morrissey/)

> [You don't have to be a good person to be a good writer--history shows it's better if you're not--but you have to understand your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abrahams/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-good-person-to-be-a-good-writer-history-shows/)

[Peter Abrahams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abrahams/)

> [“But the greatest cause of verbicide is the fact that most people are obviously far more anxious to express their approval and disapproval of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/but-the-greatest-cause-of-verbicide-is-the-fact-that-most-people-are/)

[C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/)

## More by Aristotle

> [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-true-forms-of-government-therefore-are-those-in-which-the-one-or/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [All men by nature desire to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-by-nature-desire-to-know/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-persons-ought-to-endeavor-to-follow-what-is-right-and-not-what-is/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

[Explore all 1,545 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

## More Badness quotes

> [You don't have to be a good person to be a good writer--history shows it's better if you're not--but you have to understand your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abrahams/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-good-person-to-be-a-good-writer-history-shows/)

[Peter Abrahams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abrahams/)

> [I think when you don't know where you stand with someone, they can surprise you in their goodness and their badness, and that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morrissey/i-think-when-you-don-t-know-where-you-stand-with-someone-they-can/)

[David Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morrissey/)

> [A man of bad character punishes his own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ghazali/a-man-of-bad-character-punishes-his-own-soul/)

[Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ghazali/)

> [“If you have had a bad day, remember that tomorrow is a wonderful gift and a new chance to try again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/if-you-have-had-a-bad-day-remember-that-tomorrow-is-a-wonderful-gift/)

[Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/)

> [The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness but my badness, not my merit but my misery, not my riches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-first-link-between-my-soul-and-christ-is-not-my-goodness-but-my/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? If lewdies are good that's because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/they-don-t-go-into-what-is-the-cause-of-goodness-so-why-of-the-other/)

[Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/)

> [“But the greatest cause of verbicide is the fact that most people are obviously far more anxious to express their approval and disapproval of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/but-the-greatest-cause-of-verbicide-is-the-fact-that-most-people-are/)

[C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/)

> [A bad man can do a million times more harm than a beast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-bad-man-can-do-a-million-times-more-harm-than-a-beast/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [All the best of the monsters played for sympathy. That goes for my father, Karloff, myself and all the others. They all won the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lon-chaney-jr/all-the-best-of-the-monsters-played-for-sympathy-that-goes-for-my/)

Lon Chaney, Jr

> [Before you^say something Bad to^others ask your-self^why are^you the only one saw^the badness and--&gt;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-d-r-l-testament/before-you-say-something-bad-to-others-ask-your-self-why-are-you-the/)

Junior Dè Rèál Testament

> [The Bible is one long story of God meeting our rebellion with His rescue, our sin with His salvation, our guilt with His grace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-bible-is-one-long-story-of-god-meeting-our-rebellion-with-his/)

[Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/)

> [When you've been afraid of something for long enough and it comes to pass, the terrible thing is a release. For in the belly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/when-you-ve-been-afraid-of-something-for-long-enough-and-it-comes-to/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [It is possible that the contemplation of cruelty will not make us humane but cruel; that the reiteration of the badness of our spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of-cruelty-will-not-make-us/)

[Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/)

> [Is this how you repay my goodness--with badness?” cried the boy. “Of course,” said the crocodile out of the corner of his mouth. “That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/is-this-how-you-repay-my-goodness-with-badness-cried-the-boy-of/)

[Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/)

> [“I decide a book is bad if I get angrier and angrier as I read it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-t-o-hara/i-decide-a-book-is-bad-if-i-get-angrier-and-angrier-as-i-read-it/)

Daniel T. O'Hara

Browse all 124 Badness quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Madness is badness of spirit, when one seeks profit from all sources",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Aristotle"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/madness-is-badness-of-spirit-when-one-seeks-profit-from-all-sources/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Badness"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/madness-is-badness-of-spirit-when-one-seeks-profit-from-all-sources/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/611/aristotle-78_badness_madness-is-badness-of-spirit-when-one-se_737963.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/611/aristotle-78_badness_madness-is-badness-of-spirit-when-one-se_737963.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/611/aristotle-78_badness_madness-is-badness-of-spirit-when-one-se_737963.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Madness is badness of spirit, when one seeks profit from all sources” — Aristotle",
                "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": "Aristotle",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Madness is badness of spirit, when...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/madness-is-badness-of-spirit-when-one-seeks-profit-from-all-sources/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/madness-is-badness-of-spirit-when-one-seeks-profit-from-all-sources/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
