--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is a diseased century. We diagnosed…" description: "\"This is a diseased century. We diagnosed the disease and its causes with microscopic exactness, but whenever we applied the healing knife a new sore ap..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/arundhati-roy-346_causes_this-is-a-diseased-century-we-diagnosed_2498640.png" --- # This is a diseased century. We diagnosed the disease and… ![“This is a diseased century. We diagnosed the disease and its causes with microscopic exactness, but whenever we applied the healing knife a new sore appeared. Our will was hard and pure, we should have been loved by the people, but they hate us. Why are we so odious and detested? We brought you…” quote by Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/arundhati-roy-346_causes_this-is-a-diseased-century-we-diagnosed_2498640.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/arundhati-roy-346_causes_this-is-a-diseased-century-we-diagnosed_2498640.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/arundhati-roy-346_causes_this-is-a-diseased-century-we-diagnosed_2498640.png) > “This is a diseased century. We diagnosed the disease and its causes with microscopic exactness, but whenever we applied the healing knife a new sore appeared. Our will was hard and pure, we should have been loved by the people, but they hate us. Why are we so odious and detested? We brought you truth and in our mouth it sounded like a lie. We brought you freedom, and it looks in our hands like a whip. We brought you the living life, and where our voice is heard the trees wither and there is a rustling of dry leaves. We brought you the promise of the future, but our tongue stammered and barked.” [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker laments that despite precise analysis and noble intentions, attempts at reform repeatedly cause new problems, leading to public resentment and a sense of betrayal. **In simple terms:** Good intentions can backfire and cause more harm. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of intervention and listen to those affected. Themes politics reform public perception unintended consequences Mood frustrated reflective Type political critical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - community activism - leadership decisions - media communication Key Concepts power dynamics ethical dilemmas social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders ensure reforms truly serve the people? - What mechanisms prevent repeated unintended harms? A Different Perspective Even well‑intended actions can be perceived as oppressive if not inclusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Detested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detested-286595/) [Detested Brought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detested-brought-1037656/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Diseased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diseased/) [Diseased Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diseased-century-1037655/) [Dry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dry/) [Dry leaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dry-leaves/) [Exactness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exactness/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard/) [Knives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knives/) [Live life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-life/) [Living life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-life/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Mouths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouths/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Promise of the future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise-of-the-future/) [Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Should have](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-have/) [Should have been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-have-been/) [Sore Appeared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sore-appeared-1037657/) [Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Whips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whips/) ## Related quotes > [Reason lives on the systematization of the past, but Faith is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/reason-lives-on-the-systematization-of-the-past-but-faith-is-the/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [Always leave people with a solution; the heaven if you do versus the hell if you don't. If you're really skillful you can put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/always-leave-people-with-a-solution-the-heaven-if-you-do-versus-the/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [ The time is ripe, and rotten-ripe, for change... \[Truth's\] mirror is turned forward, to reflect The promise of the future, not the past... ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-time-is-ripe-and-rotten-ripe-for-change-truth-s-mirror-is-turned/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [“There is so much beneficence and goodness to remember, and I know that not one emotion, not even one tear, is ever wasted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-rendell/there-is-so-much-beneficence-and-goodness-to-remember-and-i-know-that/) [Natasha Rendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-rendell/) > [To understand the living present, and the promise of the future, it is necessary to remember the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/to-understand-the-living-present-and-the-promise-of-the-future-it-is/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barton/a-daughter-is-the-happy-memories-of-the-past-the-joyful-moments-of/) [Bruce Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barton/) > [If the group is an art form of the future, then convening groups is an artistry we must cultivate to fully harvest the promise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-needleman/if-the-group-is-an-art-form-of-the-future-then-convening-groups-is-an/) [Jacob Needleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-needleman/) > [Promises are the uniquely human way of ordering the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/promises-are-the-uniquely-human-way-of-ordering-the-future/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Hope is called the anchor of the soul because it gives stability to the Christian life. But hope is not simply a 'wish' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/hope-is-called-the-anchor-of-the-soul-because-it-gives-stability-to/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Fantasy is, at its best, the purest access to storytelling that we have. It universalizes a tale, it evokes wonder and timeless narrative power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/fantasy-is-at-its-best-the-purest-access-to-storytelling-that-we-have/) [Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/) > [The time is ripe, and rotten-ripe, for change; Then let it come: I have no dread of what Is called for by the instinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-time-is-ripe-and-rotten-ripe-for-change-then-let-it-come-i-have/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Honour what is most beautiful about the past and build it into the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-novogratz/honour-what-is-most-beautiful-about-the-past-and-build-it-into-the/) [Jacqueline Novogratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-novogratz/) > [Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/disneyland-is-dedicated-to-the-ideals-the-dreams-and-the-hard-facts/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [“For more than half a century they belonged to one another. She detested the same characteristics in him that last day as she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/for-more-than-half-a-century-they-belonged-to-one-another-she/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [ My father would never have come to visit, he detested Eva's \[Braun\] choice in a man and the fact \[Adolf\] Hitler had set her… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/my-father-would-never-have-come-to-visit-he-detested-eva-s-braun/) [Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/) ## More by Arundhati Roy > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Poverty is a crime and the poor are terrorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/poverty-is-a-crime-and-the-poor-are-terrorists/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Fiction and non-fiction are only different techniques of story telling. For reasons I do not fully understand, fiction dances out of me. Non-fiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/fiction-and-non-fiction-are-only-different-techniques-of-story/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [NGOs have a complicated space in neoliberal politics. They are supposed to mop up the anger. Even when they are doing good work, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/ngos-have-a-complicated-space-in-neoliberal-politics-they-are/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I've never been that person who thought that because I've written one novel, I should write another and another. It's only when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-ve-never-been-that-person-who-thought-that-because-i-ve-written-one/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [It is such a supreme folly to believe that nuclear weapons are deadly only if they're used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-is-such-a-supreme-folly-to-believe-that-nuclear-weapons-are-deadly/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I think one of the saddest things that's happening to literature is that it's getting over-simplified by this diet of simple political ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-think-one-of-the-saddest-things-that-s-happening-to-literature-is/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The only dream worth having, I told her, is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-only-dream-worth-having-i-told-her-is-to-dream-that-you-will-live/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Truly, there's no alternative to stupidity. Cretinism is the mother of fascism. I have no defence against it, really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/truly-there-s-no-alternative-to-stupidity-cretinism-is-the-mother-of/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-secret-of-the-great-stories-is-that-they-have-no-secrets-the/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“stilts, the ground floors given over to parking. It’s a good idea in this car-maddened city,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/stilts-the-ground-floors-given-over-to-parking-it-s-a-good-idea-in/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“Perhaps it’s true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change-in-a-day-that-a-few-dozen/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) [Explore all 628 Arundhati Roy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## More Causes quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. 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