--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Disobedience to conscience is voluntary…" description: "\"Disobedience to conscience is voluntary; bad poetry, on the other hand, is usually not made on purpose.\" — C. S. Lewis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/c-s-lewis-2-132_conscience_disobedience-to-conscience-is-voluntary_691143.png" --- # Disobedience to conscience is voluntary; bad poetry, on… ![“Disobedience to conscience is voluntary; bad poetry, on the other hand, is usually not made on purpose.” quote by C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/c-s-lewis-2-132_conscience_disobedience-to-conscience-is-voluntary_691143.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/c-s-lewis-2-132_conscience_disobedience-to-conscience-is-voluntary_691143.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1a/c-s-lewis-2-132_conscience_disobedience-to-conscience-is-voluntary_691143.png) > “Disobedience to conscience is voluntary; bad poetry, on the other hand, is usually not made on purpose.” [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conscience-driven disobedience is a deliberate choice, whereas bad poetry often happens unintentionally. **In simple terms:** Choosing to ignore conscience is intentional; bad poetry is usually accidental. Key Takeaway Act with integrity; strive for purposeful creativity. Themes ethics creativity intentionality Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing poetry - moral decision‑making - artistic critique Key Concepts moral philosophy literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - Is your disobedience truly conscious? - Can bad art ever be purposeful? A Different Perspective Even intentional misdeeds can be rationalized, but bad poetry may still be appreciated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-poetry-273828/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Conscience Voluntary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience-voluntary-5491209/) [Disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience/) [Disobedience Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience-conscience-2150363/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Voluntary Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voluntary-bad-5491210/) ## Related quotes > [Disobedience to conscience makes conscience blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/disobedience-to-conscience-makes-conscience-blind/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resigns his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/must-the-citizen-ever-for-a-moment-or-in-the-least-degree-resigns-his/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I ended up becoming a playwright because you can be grammatically incorrect: people speaking in bad poetry or people attempting to speak well and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-baker/i-ended-up-becoming-a-playwright-because-you-can-be-grammatically/) [Annie Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-baker/) > [Reading the very best writers—let us say Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Tolstoy—is not going to make us better citizens. Art is perfectly useless, according to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/reading-the-very-best-writers-let-us-say-homer-dante-shakespeare/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [ “My introduction, implicitly echoing Oscar Wilde's remark that all bad poetry is sincere, grants the benign social decency of \[Stephen\] King's fictions.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/my-introduction-implicitly-echoing-oscar-wilde-s-remark-that-all-bad/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Michel Aflaq - is bad poetry wrapped in the guise of utopian politics, or great poetry wrapped in the guise of horrible politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/michel-aflaq-is-bad-poetry-wrapped-in-the-guise-of-utopian-politics/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [You know, bad poetry I wrote in high school can still be found on the Internet, and, you know, there's a Web log of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/you-know-bad-poetry-i-wrote-in-high-school-can-still-be-found-on-the/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [One can be well-bred and write bad poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/one-can-be-well-bred-and-write-bad-poetry/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“So while I drove my little and planned his fantasy night of how I was going to give Otter the key to my soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-klune/so-while-i-drove-my-little-and-planned-his-fantasy-night-of-how-i-was/) [T.J. 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Holmberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-n-holmberg/) > [Poetry -- even bad poetry -- may be our final hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/poetry-even-bad-poetry-may-be-our-final-hope/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Because you fight it out, and stumble, and write bad poetry, and pick yourself up again, and at the end, hopefully, someday youre sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-bloss/because-you-fight-it-out-and-stumble-and-write-bad-poetry-and-pick/) [Josie Bloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-bloss/) > [I've inherited the bad poetry genes, but not the inventor genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-harington/i-ve-inherited-the-bad-poetry-genes-but-not-the-inventor-genes/) [Kit Harington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-harington/) > [All poets write bad poetry. Bad poets publish them, good poets burn them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/all-poets-write-bad-poetry-bad-poets-publish-them-good-poets-burn-them/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [You make me want to write bad poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-make-me-want-to-write-bad-poetry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by C. S. Lewis > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Either Jesus is the Son of God ; or a madman or worse. But His being just a great teacher? He's not left that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/either-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-or-a-madman-or-worse-but-his-being/) [C. S. 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Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the Resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-first-fact-in-the-history-of-christendom-is-a-number-of-people/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I#pray because the need flows out of me all the time-walking and sleeping. It does not change # God - it changes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-pray-because-the-need-flows-out-of-me-all-the-time-walking-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Are the gods not just?' 'Oh no, child. What would become us us if they were?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/are-the-gods-not-just-oh-no-child-what-would-become-us-us-if-they-were/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Love is more than an emotion, it is a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/love-is-more-than-an-emotion-it-is-a-decision/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Ink is the great cure for all human ills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/ink-is-the-great-cure-for-all-human-ills/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-man-may-have-to-die-for-our-country-but-no-man-must-in-any/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/war-creates-no-absolutely-new-situation-it-simply-aggravates-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Explore all 1,190 C. S. Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More Conscience quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) [Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [My conscience is really active. 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But it does mean that I acknowledge another ones right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-ones-belief-but-it/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [I've worked with people who are much further to the left than I am and much further to the right than I am. 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