--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is said that we do not make the guilty…" description: "\"“It is said that we do not make the guilty party suffer for the sake of suffering; it is nonetheless true that we find it right that he should suffer.”..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/emile-durkheim-7413_punishment_it-is-said-that-we-do-not-make-the-guilt_3215817.jpg" --- # It is said that we do not make the guilty party suffer for… ![“It is said that we do not make the guilty party suffer for the sake of suffering; it is nonetheless true that we find it right that he should suffer.” quote by Émile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/emile-durkheim-7413_punishment_it-is-said-that-we-do-not-make-the-guilt_3215817.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/emile-durkheim-7413_punishment_it-is-said-that-we-do-not-make-the-guilt_3215817.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/emile-durkheim-7413_punishment_it-is-said-that-we-do-not-make-the-guilt_3215817.jpg) > ““It is said that we do not make the guilty party suffer for the sake of suffering; it is nonetheless true that we find it right that he should suffer.”” [Émile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society often punishes offenders not for justice but to satisfy collective desire for retribution, even when it may be excessive. **In simple terms:** Punishment can be about vengeance, not fairness. Key Takeaway Question fairness over revenge. Themes justice retribution social order Mood critical reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - criminal sentencing - public policy - restorative justice - media coverage Key Concepts Durkheimian sociology collective conscience Questions to Reflect On - Is suffering always the best deterrent? - How can societies balance justice and compassion? A Different Perspective Punishment may not deter crime and can cause collateral harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Guilty Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty-party-3340344/) [Nonetheless True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonetheless-true-6026582/) [Punishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punishment/) [Right Suffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-suffer-2665808/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Nonetheless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-nonetheless-6026581/) ## Related quotes > [“The right to take a chance, the right to suffer. The right to be unwise, the right to die. These aims are hateful to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/the-right-to-take-a-chance-the-right-to-suffer-the-right-to-be-unwise/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [The right to suffer is one of the joys of a free economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-pyle/the-right-to-suffer-is-one-of-the-joys-of-a-free-economy/) [Howard Pyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-pyle/) > [The ones who are quick to jump your shit are usually the guilty party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/the-ones-who-are-quick-to-jump-your-shit-are-usually-the-guilty-party/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [“Guilt is like a sore, endlessly fascinating, and the guilty party feels compelled to examine it and pick at it, so that it never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/guilt-is-like-a-sore-endlessly-fascinating-and-the-guilty-party-feels/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [When anyone apologizes to us he has to do it very expertly: otherwise we might easily come to see ourselves as the guilty party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-anyone-apologizes-to-us-he-has-to-do-it-very-expertly-otherwise/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Once upon a time there were mass media, and they were wicked, of course, and there was a guilty party. 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Your voice is deep and carnal, a sound which sends new surges of desire rushing to my sex. “These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-brandon/hmmm-you-muse-out-loud-your-voice-is-deep-and-carnal-a-sound-which/) [Felicity Brandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-brandon/) > [My dad's idea of punishment was to dress me up in all green to disguise me as grass, and then throw me in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-callen/my-dad-s-idea-of-punishment-was-to-dress-me-up-in-all-green-to/) [Bryan Callen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-callen/) > [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/) > [Something in our nature cries out to be loved by another. Isolation is devastating to the human psyche. That is why solitary confinement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/something-in-our-nature-cries-out-to-be-loved-by-another-isolation-is/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) ## More by Émile Durkheim > [Man seeks to learn, and man kills himself because of the loss of cohesion in his religious society; he does not kill himself because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-seeks-to-learn-and-man-kills-himself-because-of-the-loss-of/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Irrespective of any external, regulatory force, our capacity for feeling is in itself an insatiable and bottomless abyss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/irrespective-of-any-external-regulatory-force-our-capacity-for/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Man's characteristic privilege is that the bond he accepts is not physical but moral; that is, social. He is governed not by a material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-s-characteristic-privilege-is-that-the-bond-he-accepts-is-not/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [It is only by historical analysis that we can discover what makes up man, since it is only in the course of history that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/it-is-only-by-historical-analysis-that-we-can-discover-what-makes-up/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [There is no sociology worthy of the name which does not possess a historical character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/there-is-no-sociology-worthy-of-the-name-which-does-not-possess-a/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The liberal professions, and in a wider sense the well-to-do classes, are certainly those with the liveliest taste for knowledge and the most active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-liberal-professions-and-in-a-wider-sense-the-well-to-do-classes/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of society is the soul of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/if-religion-has-given-birth-to-all-that-is-essential-in-society-it-is/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The man whose whole activity is diverted to inner meditation becomes insensible to all his surroundings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-man-whose-whole-activity-is-diverted-to-inner-meditation-becomes/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Man is a moral being, only because he lives in society. Let all social life disappear and morality will disappear with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-is-a-moral-being-only-because-he-lives-in-society-let-all-social/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [One does not advance when one walks toward no goal, or - which is the same thing - when his goal is infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/one-does-not-advance-when-one-walks-toward-no-goal-or-which-is-the/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The roles of art, morality, religion, political faith, science itself are not to repair organic exhaustion nor to provide sound functioning of the organs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-roles-of-art-morality-religion-political-faith-science-itself-are/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [One cannot long remain so absorbed in contemplation of emptiness without being increasingly attracted to it. In vain, one bestows on it the name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/one-cannot-long-remain-so-absorbed-in-contemplation-of-emptiness/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [The man whose whole activity is diverted to inner meditation becomes insensible to all his surroundings. His passions are mere appearances, being sterile. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/the-man-whose-whole-activity-is-diverted-to-inner-meditation-becomes-2/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [By definition, sacred beings are separated beings. That which characterizes them is that there is a break of continuity between them and the profane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/by-definition-sacred-beings-are-separated-beings-that-which/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [For a long time it has been known that the first systems of representations with which men have pictured to themselves the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/for-a-long-time-it-has-been-known-that-the-first-systems-of/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) [Explore all 87 Émile Durkheim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) ## More Punishment quotes > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [Something in our nature cries out to be loved by another. Isolation is devastating to the human psyche. That is why solitary confinement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/something-in-our-nature-cries-out-to-be-loved-by-another-isolation-is/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [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/) > [My dad's idea of punishment was to dress me up in all green to disguise me as grass, and then throw me in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-callen/my-dad-s-idea-of-punishment-was-to-dress-me-up-in-all-green-to/) [Bryan Callen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-callen/) > [“Hmmm,” you muse out loud. Your voice is deep and carnal, a sound which sends new surges of desire rushing to my sex. “These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-brandon/hmmm-you-muse-out-loud-your-voice-is-deep-and-carnal-a-sound-which/) [Felicity Brandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-brandon/) > [Do we behave out of fear of punishment, or out of the demands of our heart? For me, it is the latter, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-we-behave-out-of-fear-of-punishment-or-out-of-the-demands-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Even if a civil society were to be dissolved by the consent of all its members (e.g., if a people inhabiting an island decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/even-if-a-civil-society-were-to-be-dissolved-by-the-consent-of-all/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“I want you to understand me. This isn’t vengeance. This is punishment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-want-you-to-understand-me-this-isn-t-vengeance-this-is-punishment/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [“What greater sorrow than being forced to leave behind my native earth?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/what-greater-sorrow-than-being-forced-to-leave-behind-my-native-earth/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Face it," Gary told her kindly. "You'll never catch up. 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