--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Villains are usually the worst casuists…" description: "\"Villains are usually the worst casuists, and rush into crimes to avoid less. Henry VIII. committed murder to avoid the imputation of adultery; and in o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/charles-caleb-colton-270_adultery_villains-are-usually-the-worst-casuists_3156388.jpg" --- # Villains are usually the worst casuists, and rush into… ![“Villains are usually the worst casuists, and rush into crimes to avoid less. Henry VIII. committed murder to avoid the imputation of adultery; and in our times, those who commit the latter crime attempt to wash off the stain of seducing the wife by signifying their readiness to shoot the husband.” quote by Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/charles-caleb-colton-270_adultery_villains-are-usually-the-worst-casuists_3156388.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/charles-caleb-colton-270_adultery_villains-are-usually-the-worst-casuists_3156388.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4d/charles-caleb-colton-270_adultery_villains-are-usually-the-worst-casuists_3156388.jpg) > “Villains are usually the worst casuists, and rush into crimes to avoid less. Henry VIII. committed murder to avoid the imputation of adultery; and in our times, those who commit the latter crime attempt to wash off the stain of seducing the wife by signifying their readiness to shoot the husband.” [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Villains rationalize wrongdoing by committing worse acts to hide lesser sins, showing moral hypocrisy. **In simple terms:** People commit worse crimes to cover smaller ones. Key Takeaway Recognize and avoid moral rationalization. Themes morality hypocrisy justice Mood cynical critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - political scandal - personal betrayal - legal defense - media manipulation Key Concepts ethical relativism moral psychology Questions to Reflect On - What motivates people to commit greater evils to hide smaller ones? - How can societies deter this pattern? A Different Perspective Such rationalizations can backfire, leading to greater condemnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adultery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adultery/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Henry viii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/henry-viii/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Signifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signifying/) [Villain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/villain/) [Villains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/villains/) [Villainy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/villainy/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [An ugly woman, married to King Henry VIII, would have defied the axe and daunted her husband's infidelities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/an-ugly-woman-married-to-king-henry-viii-would-have-defied-the-axe/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I would put forward a modest proposition that we were very much better governed by Henry VIII than we are by King Gordon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/i-would-put-forward-a-modest-proposition-that-we-were-very-much/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [You end up with this succession of periods when everything was marvellous - from King Arthur to the medieval times, Ivanhoe, chivalry, Henry VIII,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hislop/you-end-up-with-this-succession-of-periods-when-everything-was/) [Ian Hislop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hislop/) > [I learned an invaluable lesson from a kid in Argentina when we were playing Buenos Aires in 2002. I came out of the hotel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wakeman/i-learned-an-invaluable-lesson-from-a-kid-in-argentina-when-we-were/) [Rick Wakeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wakeman/) > [King Henry VIII, who said to his lawyer, Forget the alimony, I've got a better idea. Never got a dinner!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/king-henry-viii-who-said-to-his-lawyer-forget-the-alimony-i-ve-got-a/) [Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/) > [Admit that the press transferred the pontificate of Rome to Henry VIII-Admit that the press demolished in some sort the feudal system, and set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/admit-that-the-press-transferred-the-pontificate-of-rome-to-henry/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [The civil jury is the most effective form of sovereignty of the people. It defies the aggressions of time and man. During the reigns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-civil-jury-is-the-most-effective-form-of-sovereignty-of-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [We spent the first night of our honeymoon in a country hotel, with Tudor architecture oak beams, and floors which sloped, of the Queen-Elizabeth-Slept-Here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-plaidy/we-spent-the-first-night-of-our-honeymoon-in-a-country-hotel-with/) [Jean Plaidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-plaidy/) > [I love horses. I think I may have been one of Henry VIII’s knights in another life, riding through a great forest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-love-horses-i-think-i-may-have-been-one-of-henry-viii-s-knights-in/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [There are a lot of parallels between the historical Henry VIII and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. There's an oscillation and extremity of emotion throughout his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/there-are-a-lot-of-parallels-between-the-historical-henry-viii-and/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [Henry VIII had so many wives because his dynastic sense was very strong whenever he saw a maid of honour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/henry-viii-had-so-many-wives-because-his-dynastic-sense-was-very/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [“What about the guy at the restaurant who tried to kill you? Is he a villain?” “Yes,” Cooper said. “He is. He’s broken. Most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-sakey/what-about-the-guy-at-the-restaurant-who-tried-to-kill-you-is-he-a/) [Marcus Sakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-sakey/) > [I will do anything, including highway robbery and murder, to avoid leaving my children in poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-will-do-anything-including-highway-robbery-and-murder-to-avoid/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) ## More by Charles Caleb Colton > [Villainy that is vigilant will be an overmatch for virtue, if she slumber at her post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/villainy-that-is-vigilant-will-be-an-overmatch-for-virtue-if-she/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/to-dare-to-live-alone-is-the-rarest-courage-since-there-are-many-who/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [It is doubtful whether mankind are most indebted to those who like Bacon and Butler dig the gold from the mine of literature, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-doubtful-whether-mankind-are-most-indebted-to-those-who-like/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/none-are-so-fond-of-secrets-as-those-who-do-not-mean-to-keep-them/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Mental pleasures never cloy; unlike those of the body, they are increased by reputation, approved by reflection, and strengthened by enjoyment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/mental-pleasures-never-cloy-unlike-those-of-the-body-they-are/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Ignorance lies at the bottom of all human knowledge, and the deeper we penetrate, the nearer we arrive unto it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/ignorance-lies-at-the-bottom-of-all-human-knowledge-and-the-deeper-we/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Heroism, self-denial, and magnanimity, in all instances where they do not spring from a principle of religion, are but splendid altars on which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/heroism-self-denial-and-magnanimity-in-all-instances-where-they-do/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [We ought not to be over-anxious to encourage innovation in cases of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-ought-not-to-be-over-anxious-to-encourage-innovation-in-cases-of/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed, but to those who have differed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-owe-almost-all-our-knowledge-not-to-those-who-have-agreed-but-to/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Metaphysicians have been learning their lessons for the last four thousand years, and it is high time that they should now begin to teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/metaphysicians-have-been-learning-their-lessons-for-the-last-four/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Faith and works are necessary to our spiritual life as Christians, as soul and body are to our natural life as men; for faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/faith-and-works-are-necessary-to-our-spiritual-life-as-christians-as/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [When all moves equally (says Pascal), nothing seems to move as in a vessel under sail; and when all run by common consent into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/when-all-moves-equally-says-pascal-nothing-seems-to-move-as-in-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Explore all 778 Charles Caleb Colton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## More Adultery quotes > [A hundred years ago Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter was given an A for adultery; today she would rate no better than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/a-hundred-years-ago-hester-prynne-of-the-scarlet-letter-was-given-an/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [“Reality has a way of bursting the bubble of illusion, and an affair is one of the biggest illusions that anyone can experience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/reality-has-a-way-of-bursting-the-bubble-of-illusion-and-an-affair-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Once a cheater always remain's a cheater, if you love your partner, why cheat? That dosent makes any sense, that can tell that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittannia-calder/once-a-cheater-always-remain-s-a-cheater-if-you-love-your-partner-why/) [Brittannia Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittannia-calder/) > [Marriage is honourable, as you say; and if so, wherefore should Cuckoldom be a Discredit, being deriv'd from so honourable a Root?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/marriage-is-honourable-as-you-say-and-if-so-wherefore-should/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [L'adulte' re introduit l'esprit dans la lettre quebien souvent le mariage e u" t laisse e morte. Adultery breathes new life into marriages which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/l-adulte-re-introduit-l-esprit-dans-la-lettre-quebien-souvent-le/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“I shan't make a fuss over the babe's father.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/i-shan-t-make-a-fuss-over-the-babe-s-father/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [When adultery walks in, everything worth having walks out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-m-kroll/when-adultery-walks-in-everything-worth-having-walks-out/) [Woodrow M. Kroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-m-kroll/) > [Splendid couple - slept with both of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-bowra/splendid-couple-slept-with-both-of-them/) Maurice Bowra > [“I was thinking of murder, mutilation and dessert like Ignacia Sandoval’s instructions for delectable empanadas made of minced mother-in-law’s tongue (said to induce peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-ramos-o-briant/i-was-thinking-of-murder-mutilation-and-dessert-like-ignacia-sandoval/) Sandra Ramos O'Briant > [Adultery is an image of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/adultery-is-an-image-of-hell/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [Adolescence: A stage between infancy and adultery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/adolescence-a-stage-between-infancy-and-adultery/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, if it has its own way it will go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/sin-aims-always-at-the-utmost-every-time-it-rises-up-to-tempt-or/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [“Next to Joel on the beach was Martha. Two years back in time she had been Joel’s bimbo. That’s because Joel was still married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-deck/next-to-joel-on-the-beach-was-martha-two-years-back-in-time-she-had/) Stephen Deck > [Homer and Hesiod attributed to the gods all things which are disreputable and worthy of blame when done by men; and they told of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xenophanes/homer-and-hesiod-attributed-to-the-gods-all-things-which-are/) [Xenophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xenophanes/) > [I was growing tired of all the fussing and prevaricating, of the stolen hours and the secret rendez-vous; of the small indignities and broad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/i-was-growing-tired-of-all-the-fussing-and-prevaricating-of-the/) [Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/) [Browse all 426 Adultery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adultery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Villains are usually the worst casuists, and rush into crimes to avoid less. 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