--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: False is the idea of utility that…" description: "\"“False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men bec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/cesare-beccaria-29316_armed_false-is-the-idea-of-utility-that-sacrif_1848477.jpg" --- # False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand… ![“False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that it has no remedy for evils, except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms…” quote by Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/cesare-beccaria-29316_armed_false-is-the-idea-of-utility-that-sacrif_1848477.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/cesare-beccaria-29316_armed_false-is-the-idea-of-utility-that-sacrif_1848477.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/cesare-beccaria-29316_armed_false-is-the-idea-of-utility-that-sacrif_1848477.jpg) > ““False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that it has no remedy for evils, except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are of such a nature. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”” [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Overly restrictive gun laws can unintentionally empower criminals while harming law‑abiding citizens. **In simple terms:** Strict bans may backfire. Key Takeaway Balance safety with responsible ownership. Themes rights public safety law enforcement Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - urban policing - self‑defense legislation - crime prevention Key Concepts deterrence theory social contract Questions to Reflect On - Do bans reduce overall violence? A Different Perspective Enforcement challenges and cultural differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/false-is-the-idea-of-utility-that-sacrifices-a-thousand-real-2/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [The laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Can it be supposed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/the-laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The laws that forbid the carrying of arms... serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/the-laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-serve-rather-to-encourage/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [“Believe it or not, the secularists have even succeeded in passing laws that forbid the freedom of teaching about the global Flood in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-ham/believe-it-or-not-the-secularists-have-even-succeeded-in-passing-laws/) [Ken Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-ham/) > [The United States need to put internet processes, policies, and procedures in place with real laws that forbid going beyond the borders of what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-united-states-need-to-put-internet-processes-policies-and/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Let us be clear: there are no Salafist armed groups in Syria. Those carrying arms are mostly members of the dissident army. The armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burhan-ghalioun/let-us-be-clear-there-are-no-salafist-armed-groups-in-syria-those/) [Burhan Ghalioun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burhan-ghalioun/) > [Carrying arms for the removal of the Arms Act can never fall under any scheme of nonviolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/carrying-arms-for-the-removal-of-the-arms-act-can-never-fall-under/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [We have this false idea in our culture that if you haven't made it by 30, then you're never going to do anything interesting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-mcmillan/we-have-this-false-idea-in-our-culture-that-if-you-haven-t-made-it-by/) [Tracy McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-mcmillan/) > [Don't get consumed by the false idea that being a woman is a disadvantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esra-saydam/don-t-get-consumed-by-the-false-idea-that-being-a-woman-is-a/) [Esra Saydam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esra-saydam/) > [The hardest part about gaining any new idea is sweeping out the false idea occupying that niche. As long as that niche is occupied,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-hardest-part-about-gaining-any-new-idea-is-sweeping-out-the-false/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Under the First Amendment there is no such thing as a false idea. However pernicious an opinion may seem, we depend for its correction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-f-powell-jr/under-the-first-amendment-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-false-idea/) [Lewis F. Powell, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-f-powell-jr/) > [The idea, shared by many, that life is a vale of tears, is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false-2/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More by Cesare Beccaria > [Crimes are more effectually prevented by the certainty than the severity of punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/crimes-are-more-effectually-prevented-by-the-certainty-than-the/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [The laws that forbid the carrying of arms... serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/the-laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-serve-rather-to-encourage/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [“  If every individual be bound to society, society is equally bound to him, by a contract which from its nature equally binds both parties.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/if-every-individual-be-bound-to-society-society-is-equally-bound-to/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [The laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Can it be supposed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/the-laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [The punishment of death is the war of a nation against a citizen whose destruction it judges to be necessary or useful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/the-punishment-of-death-is-the-war-of-a-nation-against-a-citizen/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [Happy is the nation without a history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/happy-is-the-nation-without-a-history/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [“  Every punishment which does not arise from absolute necessity, says the great Montesquieu, is tyrannical. A proposition which may be made more general thus:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/every-punishment-which-does-not-arise-from-absolute-necessity-says/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [The fault no child ever loses is the one he was most punished for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/the-fault-no-child-ever-loses-is-the-one-he-was-most-punished-for/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [For a punishment to be just it should consist of only such gradations of intensity as suffice to deter men from committing crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/for-a-punishment-to-be-just-it-should-consist-of-only-such-gradations/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [Laws against the possession of weapons only disarm those who have no intention of committing a crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/laws-against-the-possession-of-weapons-only-disarm-those-who-have-no/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [“When a fixed code of laws, which must be observed to the letter, leaves no further care to the judge than to examine the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/when-a-fixed-code-of-laws-which-must-be-observed-to-the-letter-leaves/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [“It is a considerable point in all good legislation to determine exactly the credibility of witnesses and the proofs of a crime. Every reasonable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/it-is-a-considerable-point-in-all-good-legislation-to-determine/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/it-is-better-to-prevent-crimes-than-to-punish-them/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/false-is-the-idea-of-utility-that-sacrifices-a-thousand-real-2/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [For every crime that comes before him, a judge is required to complete a perfect syllogism in which the major premise must be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/for-every-crime-that-comes-before-him-a-judge-is-required-to-complete/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) [Explore all 17 Cesare Beccaria quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) ## More Armed quotes > [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) > [“Have you ever done this before?" "Done what?" "Attacked two armed men with sticks?" "No, but I'm looking forward to it," he smiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lenahan/have-you-ever-done-this-before-done-what-attacked-two-armed-men-with/) John Lenahan > [I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe that the Armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pace/i-believe-that-homosexual-acts-between-individuals-are-immoral-and/) [Peter Pace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pace/) > [“Keep in mind that without the law, we’re not a military, just an armed gang that dresses alike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marko-kloos/keep-in-mind-that-without-the-law-we-re-not-a-military-just-an-armed/) [Marko Kloos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marko-kloos/) > [Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/laws-that-forbid-the-carrying-of-arms-disarm-only-those-who-are/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We've had Saudis and Jordanians and Pakistanis who have - and Syrians - who have been involved in armed attacks against coalition forces in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armitage/we-ve-had-saudis-and-jordanians-and-pakistanis-who-have-and-syrians/) [Richard Armitage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armitage/) > [Scotland forms a crucial part of our Armed Forces which should not be jeopardised by rushed cuts or a rush to the exit from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hammond/scotland-forms-a-crucial-part-of-our-armed-forces-which-should-not-be/) [Philip Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hammond/) > [For an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/for-an-unarmed-man-may-be-attacked-with-greater-confidence-than-an/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Moroccan traffic isn't like normal traffic. It's armed combat, a war of wills, in which only the very bravest have a chance to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/moroccan-traffic-isn-t-like-normal-traffic-it-s-armed-combat-a-war-of/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [I have deep respect for our armed forces and jawans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-kumaraswamy/i-have-deep-respect-for-our-armed-forces-and-jawans/) [H. D. Kumaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-kumaraswamy/) > [“Neither the Russians nor the Americans were the cleverest people, or the most experienced, in the world that followed 1945. The French were rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-fehrenbach-2/neither-the-russians-nor-the-americans-were-the-cleverest-people-or/) [T.R. Fehrenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-fehrenbach-2/) > [“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-henry/guard-with-jealous-attention-the-public-liberty-suspect-everyone-who/) [Patrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-henry/) > [These men were religious when the spirit of religion was buried in forms and ceremonies, and when the priesthood had armed itself with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-a-hitchcock/these-men-were-religious-when-the-spirit-of-religion-was-buried-in/) [Ethan A. Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-a-hitchcock/) > [“How do you have an armed siege without guns?’ ‘She used Olympic standard archery equipment,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livia-day/how-do-you-have-an-armed-siege-without-guns-she-used-olympic-standard/) Livia Day > [A free people ought...to be armed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/a-free-people-ought-to-be-armed/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) Browse all 267 Armed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that it has no remedy for evils, except destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are of such a nature. 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