--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whatever is a cruel wrong, Whatever is…" description: "\"Whatever is a cruel wrong, Whatever is unjust, The honest years that speed along Will trample in the dust.\" — Ella Wheeler Wilcox" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_dust_whatever-is-a-cruel-wrong-whatever-is-un_1147645.png" --- # Whatever is a cruel wrong, Whatever is unjust, The honest… ![“Whatever is a cruel wrong, Whatever is unjust, The honest years that speed along Will trample in the dust.” quote by Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_dust_whatever-is-a-cruel-wrong-whatever-is-un_1147645.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_dust_whatever-is-a-cruel-wrong-whatever-is-un_1147645.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_dust_whatever-is-a-cruel-wrong-whatever-is-un_1147645.png) > “Whatever is a cruel wrong, Whatever is unjust, The honest years that speed along Will trample in the dust.” [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights that unjust actions and cruelty will ultimately be erased and forgotten over time. **In simple terms:** Wrongdoings fade away. Key Takeaway Act justly to leave a lasting positive impact. Themes justice cruelty impermanence Mood concerned hopeful Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - personal conduct - social justice - historical memory Key Concepts ethics legacy Questions to Reflect On - What injustices persist despite time? - How can we ensure good deeds endure? A Different Perspective Even powerful injustices can be forgotten, but moral responsibility remains. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cruel Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-wrong-1759784/) [Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honest Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-years-1077233/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) [Unjust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unjust/) [Unjust Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unjust-honest-3229262/) [Wrong Unjust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-unjust-3229263/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [To be honest, in my five years as an electrician, I never got the license.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/to-be-honest-in-my-five-years-as-an-electrician-i-never-got-the/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [I like to be honest, and after all these years I can't be bothered being politically correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-osbourne/i-like-to-be-honest-and-after-all-these-years-i-can-t-be-bothered/) [Sharon Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-osbourne/) > [Persecution is not wrong because it is cruel; but it is cruel because it is wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/persecution-is-not-wrong-because-it-is-cruel-but-it-is-cruel-because/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [“People tend to overestimate my character,” I say quietly. “They think that because I’m small, or a girl, or a Stiff, I can’t possibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/people-tend-to-overestimate-my-character-i-say-quietly-they-think-2/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [When we pass by another person without telling them we love them it’s cruel and wrong and we all know this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/when-we-pass-by-another-person-without-telling-them-we-love-them-it-s/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“They think that because I'm small, or a girl, or a stiff, I can't possible be cruel. But they're wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/they-think-that-because-i-m-small-or-a-girl-or-a-stiff-i-can-t/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [The more cruel the wrong that men commit against an individual or a people, the deeper their hatred and contempt for their victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-more-cruel-the-wrong-that-men-commit-against-an-individual-or-a/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Those who deny the right of a jury to protect an individual in resisting an unjust law of the government, deny him all defence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/those-who-deny-the-right-of-a-jury-to-protect-an-individual-in/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. 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Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The rules and principles of case law have never been treated as final truths but as working hypotheses, continually retested in those great laboratories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-rules-and-principles-of-case-law-have-never-been-treated-as-final/) [Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/) > [No judge can stop us from praying for our country and I pray that on May 6, millions of Americans will join me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-graham/no-judge-can-stop-us-from-praying-for-our-country-and-i-pray-that-on/) [Franklin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-graham/) ## More by Ella Wheeler Wilcox > [A day which passed without a poem from my pen I considered lost and misused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/a-day-which-passed-without-a-poem-from-my-pen-i-considered-lost-and/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Talk health. The dreary, never-changing tale Of mortal maladies is worn and stale. 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The autumn wood robed in its scarlet clothes, The matchless tinting on the royal rose Whose velvet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/all-perfect-things-are-saddening-in-effect-the-autumn-wood-robed-in/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Content is not the pathway to great deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/content-is-not-the-pathway-to-great-deeds/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Don't anticipate the happiness of tomorrow. Discover it today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/don-t-anticipate-the-happiness-of-tomorrow-discover-it-today/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [“And yet I would not be a child again. 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