--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And if he were really to do good he would…" description: "\"“And if he were really to do good he would have needed in addition to his principles, a heart capable of violating them - a heart which knows only of p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/boris-pasternak-1944_heart_and-if-he-were-really-to-do-good-he-woul_2914738.png" --- # And if he were really to do good he would have needed in… ![“And if he were really to do good he would have needed in addition to his principles, a heart capable of violating them - a heart which knows only of particular not of general cases and which achieves greatness in little actions.” quote by Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/boris-pasternak-1944_heart_and-if-he-were-really-to-do-good-he-woul_2914738.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/boris-pasternak-1944_heart_and-if-he-were-really-to-do-good-he-woul_2914738.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afd/boris-pasternak-1944_heart_and-if-he-were-really-to-do-good-he-woul_2914738.png) > ““And if he were really to do good he would have needed in addition to his principles, a heart capable of violating them - a heart which knows only of particular not of general cases and which achieves greatness in little actions.”” [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True greatness may require a flexible moral compass, allowing exceptions for small, meaningful deeds. **In simple terms:** Greatness can need breaking rules for small acts. Key Takeaway Balance principle with compassion. Themes ethics humanism greatness Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal decision making - leadership - ethical dilemmas - creative writing Key Concepts moral flexibility exceptionalism small acts Questions to Reflect On - When is it right to bend a rule? - Do small actions truly define greatness? A Different Perspective Rigid adherence to principles can stifle kindness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capable Violating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable-violating-4216083/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-capable-1424425/) [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Principles Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles-heart-1816839/) [Violating Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violating-heart-4216081/) ## Related quotes > [Where principles and heart stand in conflict with each other, let us make the law of the spirit free from the law of principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/where-principles-and-heart-stand-in-conflict-with-each-other-let-us/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [“...human heart is much more capable than we give it credit for. Being able to love again is a choice”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/human-heart-is-much-more-capable-than-we-give-it-credit-for-being/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [The forgiving heart is capable of anything. I believe that deeply. 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I know I have been treated like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blondie/my-heart-has-been-broken-shattered-and-abused-but-i-don-t-wallow-in/) [Blondie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blondie/) > [Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/prayer-enlarges-the-heart-until-it-is-capable-of-containing-god-s/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [My heart is still capable of loving, it's just been tainted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/my-heart-is-still-capable-of-loving-it-s-just-been-tainted/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [“Never limit your mind; it is capable of great intelligence; or your heart; it is capable of extraordinary kindness; or your soul; it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/never-limit-your-mind-it-is-capable-of-great-intelligence-or-your/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“He was awed at her touch and what the human heart is capable of feeling - such sadness, such shame, but such acceptance such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-ford/he-was-awed-at-her-touch-and-what-the-human-heart-is-capable-of/) [Jamie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-ford/) > [“If it can't be decided in the affirmative, it will never be decided in the negative. You know that that is the peculiarity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-it-can-t-be-decided-in-the-affirmative-it-will-never-be-decided-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Boris Pasternak > [“Happy are the downtrodden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/happy-are-the-downtrodden/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“The saddest thing of all was that their party represented a deviation from the conditions of the time. It was impossible to imagine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/the-saddest-thing-of-all-was-that-their-party-represented-a-deviation/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [No deep and strong feeling, such as we may come across here and there in the world, is unmixed with compassion. The more we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/no-deep-and-strong-feeling-such-as-we-may-come-across-here-and-there/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [She was here on earth to make sense of its wild enchantments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/she-was-here-on-earth-to-make-sense-of-its-wild-enchantments/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [Art has two constant, two unending concerns: It always meditates on death and thus always creates life. All great, genuine art resembles and continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/art-has-two-constant-two-unending-concerns-it-always-meditates-on/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [I think that if the beast who sleeps in man could be held down by threats of any kind, whether of jail or retribution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-think-that-if-the-beast-who-sleeps-in-man-could-be-held-down-by/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [And so it turned out that only a life similar to the life of those around us, merging with it without a ripple, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/and-so-it-turned-out-that-only-a-life-similar-to-the-life-of-those/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [I come here to speak poetry. It will always be in the grass. It will also be necessary to bend down to hear it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-come-here-to-speak-poetry-it-will-always-be-in-the-grass-it-will/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“I'll stay with you a little, my unforgettable delight, for as long as my arms and my hands and my lips remember you. I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-ll-stay-with-you-a-little-my-unforgettable-delight-for-as-long-as/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [If it's so painful to love and absorb electricity, how much more painful it is to be a woman, to be the electricity, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/if-it-s-so-painful-to-love-and-absorb-electricity-how-much-more/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [I don't like purely philosophical works. I think a little philosophy should be added to life and art by way of seasoning, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-don-t-like-purely-philosophical-works-i-think-a-little-philosophy/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“But sometimes, to enable her to bear her life, she needed the accompaniment of an inward music and she could not always compose it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/but-sometimes-to-enable-her-to-bear-her-life-she-needed-the/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“We’ve been lucky. The autumn happened to be dry and warm. We managed to dig the potatoes before the rain and cold set in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/we-ve-been-lucky-the-autumn-happened-to-be-dry-and-warm-we-managed-to/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [Departure beyond the borders of my country is for me equivalent to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/departure-beyond-the-borders-of-my-country-is-for-me-equivalent-to/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“As he scribbled his odds and ends, he made a note reaffirming his belief that art always serves beauty, and beauty is delight in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/as-he-scribbled-his-odds-and-ends-he-made-a-note-reaffirming-his/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) [Explore all 189 Boris Pasternak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) ## More Heart quotes > [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“He held her like a new woman and what she felt felt almost as good as love had, and each of them called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/he-held-her-like-a-new-woman-and-what-she-felt-felt-almost-as-good-as/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [My heart jumps out of its cage to see what the fuss is about. Damn thing. Always so hopeful, but my voice hides it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wylie/my-heart-jumps-out-of-its-cage-to-see-what-the-fuss-is-about-damn/) [Sarah Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wylie/) > [I love because there is not enough room in my heart to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rena-kornreich-gelissen/i-love-because-there-is-not-enough-room-in-my-heart-to-hate/) [Rena Kornreich Gelissen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rena-kornreich-gelissen/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. 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Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [Always have the fear of God in your heart, and remember that God is always with you, everywhere, whether you are walking or sitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennadius-of-constantinople/always-have-the-fear-of-god-in-your-heart-and-remember-that-god-is/) [Gennadius of Constantinople](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennadius-of-constantinople/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. 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