--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That was the birth of sin. Not doing it…" description: "\"That was the birth of sin. Not doing it, but KNOWING about it. Before the apple, [Adam and Eve] had shut their eyes and their minds had gone dark. Now,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/d-h-lawrence-426_adam_that-was-the-birth-of-sin-not-doing-it-b_705977.png" --- # That was the birth of sin. Not doing it, but KNOWING about… ![“That was the birth of sin. Not doing it, but KNOWING about it. Before the apple, [Adam and Eve] had shut their eyes and their minds had gone dark. Now, they peeped and pried and imagined. They watched themselves.” quote by D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/d-h-lawrence-426_adam_that-was-the-birth-of-sin-not-doing-it-b_705977.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/d-h-lawrence-426_adam_that-was-the-birth-of-sin-not-doing-it-b_705977.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/238/d-h-lawrence-426_adam_that-was-the-birth-of-sin-not-doing-it-b_705977.png) > “That was the birth of sin. Not doing it, but KNOWING about it. Before the apple, \[Adam and Eve\] had shut their eyes and their minds had gone dark. Now, they peeped and pried and imagined. They watched themselves.” [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Awareness of wrongdoing creates a deeper sense of guilt than the act itself, highlighting the power of conscience over behavior. **In simple terms:** Knowing about sin feels worse than committing it. Key Takeaway Reflect on the weight of awareness. Themes guilt conscience knowledge Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - ethical dilemmas - self‑examination - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism psychology morality Questions to Reflect On - How does knowledge of a mistake affect your actions? - Can awareness be more harmful than the act? A Different Perspective Awareness can be paralyzing and may not lead to change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam/) [Adam and eve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam-and-eve/) [Adam Eve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam-eve/) [Apple Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apple-adam-1036475/) [Apples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apples/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Birth Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth-sin-5578598/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Knowing Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-apple-5578597/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Self knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-knowledge/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Sin Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin-doing-3296512/) [Sins not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sins-not/) ## Related quotes > [Sin is much more than doing the wrong thing. It begins withloving, worshiping, and serving the wrong thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/sin-is-much-more-than-doing-the-wrong-thing-it-begins-withloving/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [This I know; God cannot sin, because his doing a thing makes it just, and consequently, no sin… And therefore it is blasphemy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/this-i-know-god-cannot-sin-because-his-doing-a-thing-makes-it-just/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [Know for a certainty that if men understood how terrible is even one solitary sin, they would rather be cast into a heated furnace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-of-genoa/know-for-a-certainty-that-if-men-understood-how-terrible-is-even-one/) [Catherine of Genoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-of-genoa/) > [New Rule: You're never going to pick up women at a coffee shop pretending to be working on your laptop. You don't look like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-you-re-never-going-to-pick-up-women-at-a-coffee-shop/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“You know that apple Adam ate in the Garden of Eden, referred to in the Bible?' he asked. 'You know what was in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/you-know-that-apple-adam-ate-in-the-garden-of-eden-referred-to-in-the/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [And there never was an apple, in Adam's opinion, that wasn't worth the trouble you got into for eating it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/and-there-never-was-an-apple-in-adam-s-opinion-that-wasn-t-worth-the/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Until Eve gave him the apple, Adam didn't even know he wasn't wearing underpants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-yates/until-eve-gave-him-the-apple-adam-didn-t-even-know-he-wasn-t-wearing/) [Paula Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-yates/) > [“You know that apple Adam ate in the Garden of Eden, referred to in the Bible?’ he asked. ‘You know what was in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/you-know-that-apple-adam-ate-in-the-garden-of-eden-referred-to-in-the-2/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [He couldn’t see why people made such a fuss about people eating their silly old fruit anyway, but life would be a lot less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-couldn-t-see-why-people-made-such-a-fuss-about-people-eating-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jesus died for our sins, not our sexuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-perry/jesus-died-for-our-sins-not-our-sexuality/) [Troy Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-perry/) > [To engage people in culture we must remember that holiness is separation from sin, not separation from sinners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-stetzer/to-engage-people-in-culture-we-must-remember-that-holiness-is/) [Ed Stetzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-stetzer/) > [It is our wisest and our safest course to stand at the farthest distance from sin; not to go near the house of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/it-is-our-wisest-and-our-safest-course-to-stand-at-the-farthest/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [We are not to look upon our sins as insignificant trifles. On the other hand, we are not to regard them as so terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/we-are-not-to-look-upon-our-sins-as-insignificant-trifles-on-the/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Christian liberty is freedom from sin, not freedom to sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/christian-liberty-is-freedom-from-sin-not-freedom-to-sin/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [The first duty of a Christian, of a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, is to deny himself. To deny oneself means to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innocent-of-alaska/the-first-duty-of-a-christian-of-a-disciple-and-follower-of-jesus/) [Innocent of Alaska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innocent-of-alaska/) ## More by D. H. Lawrence > [Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/not-i-not-i-but-the-wind-that-blows-through-me-a-fine-wind-is-blowing/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-venus-among-the-fishes-skips-and-is-a-she-dolphin-she-is-the-gay/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as the Crystal Palace, with a military band playing softly, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-i-had-my-way-i-would-build-a-lethal-chamber-as-big-as-the-crystal/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Now it is autumn and the falling fruit and the long journey towards oblivion. The apples falling like great drops of dew to bruise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/now-it-is-autumn-and-the-falling-fruit-and-the-long-journey-towards/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [We have to hate our immediate predecessors to get free of their authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/we-have-to-hate-our-immediate-predecessors-to-get-free-of-their/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Reach me a gentian, give me a torch! Let me guide myself with the blue, forked torch of a flower down the darker and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/reach-me-a-gentian-give-me-a-torch-let-me-guide-myself-with-the-blue/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The war is dreadful. It is the business of the artist to follow it home to the heart of the individual fighters - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-war-is-dreadful-it-is-the-business-of-the-artist-to-follow-it/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The nearer a conception comes towards finality, the nearer does the dynamic relation, out of which this concept has arisen, draw to a close.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-nearer-a-conception-comes-towards-finality-the-nearer-does-the/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [It is our business to go as we are impelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/it-is-our-business-to-go-as-we-are-impelled/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/ours-is-essentially-a-tragic-age-so-we-refuse-to-take-it-tragically/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If only we could live two lives: the first in which to make one's mistakes, and the second in which to profit by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-only-we-could-live-two-lives-the-first-in-which-to-make-one-s/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [They say geniuses mostly have great mothers. They mostly have sad fates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/they-say-geniuses-mostly-have-great-mothers-they-mostly-have-sad-fates/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [When one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/when-one-jumps-over-the-edge-one-is-bound-to-land-somewhere/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The living moment is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-living-moment-is-everything/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If a woman's got nothing but her fair fame to feed on, why, it's thin tack, and a donkey would die of it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-a-woman-s-got-nothing-but-her-fair-fame-to-feed-on-why-it-s-thin/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) [Explore all 570 D. H. Lawrence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) ## More Adam quotes > [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Adam could imagine what he looked like: a debauched nerd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullinan/adam-could-imagine-what-he-looked-like-a-debauched-nerd/) [Heidi Cullinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullinan/) > [Adam Berenson knows how to compose, organize an ensemble, do musical research, play solo and trio piano, write for musical journals, and enlist others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bley/adam-berenson-knows-how-to-compose-organize-an-ensemble-do-musical/) [Paul Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bley/) > [“Finally, someone had seen him. And what had he done? Let her get away. Undermined by his disgusting human anatomy. It had just been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/finally-someone-had-seen-him-and-what-had-he-done-let-her-get-away/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“think Adam is looking to break Kenji’s neck at this point.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/think-adam-is-looking-to-break-kenji-s-neck-at-this-point/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Adam's lips are set in a grime line. I can't tell if he's about to cry or about to punch the guard. For his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/adam-s-lips-are-set-in-a-grime-line-i-can-t-tell-if-he-s-about-to-cry/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [And as regards Adam and Eve we must maintain that before the fall they were virgins in Paradise: but after they sinned, and were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/and-as-regards-adam-and-eve-we-must-maintain-that-before-the-fall/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees, So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/oh-adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-a-proper/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Barışı elde etmek için çabalayan her adam olağanüstü bir adamdır!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/bar-elde-etmek-i-in-abalayan-her-adam-ola-an-st-bir-adamd-r/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) [Browse all 1,360 Adam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That was the birth of sin. 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