--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Saints should always be judged guilty…" description: "\"Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent.\" — George Orwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/george-orwell-57_guilty_saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-un_1725411.jpg" --- # Saints should always be judged guilty until they are… ![“Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/george-orwell-57_guilty_saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-un_1725411.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/george-orwell-57_guilty_saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-un_1725411.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/george-orwell-57_guilty_saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-un_1725411.jpg) > “Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People in authority should be presumed guilty until proven innocent, challenging the usual legal presumption. **In simple terms:** Question authority’s innocence. Key Takeaway Demand accountability from leaders. Themes politics ethics justice Mood critical provocative Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - courtroom - government oversight - public scrutiny Key Concepts presumption of innocence burden of proof power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Is this a realistic standard? - How can we balance skepticism and fairness? A Different Perspective Shifts the burden of proof unfairly onto the accused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty/) [Guilty Proved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty-proved-752529/) [Innocent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent/) [Judged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judged/) [Judged Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judged-guilty-1379618/) [Proved Innocent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proved-innocent-752530/) [Saints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saints/) [Saints Judged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saints-judged-1379617/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent, but the tests that have to be applied to them are not, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-until-they-are-proved-innocent/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“All saints should be judged guilty until proven innocent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/all-saints-should-be-judged-guilty-until-proven-innocent/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Any priest or shaman must be presumed guilty until proved innocent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/any-priest-or-shaman-must-be-presumed-guilty-until-proved-innocent/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [We are all guilty until proved to the contrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/we-are-all-guilty-until-proved-to-the-contrary/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“Woman, where are they? Has no one judged you guilty?" She answers "No one, sir." Then Jesus says, "I also don't judge you guilty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/woman-where-are-they-has-no-one-judged-you-guilty-she-answers-no-one/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [In this rat-race everybody's guilty till proved innocent!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-davis/in-this-rat-race-everybody-s-guilty-till-proved-innocent/) [Bette Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-davis/) > [You're innocent until proven guilty, but treated like a leper forever after you've been proved innocent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/you-re-innocent-until-proven-guilty-but-treated-like-a-leper-forever/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [“Can anyone be proved innocent, if it be enough to have accused him?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-the-apostate/can-anyone-be-proved-innocent-if-it-be-enough-to-have-accused-him/) [Julian the Apostate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-the-apostate/) > [“Many people genuinely do not wish to be saints, and it is possible that some who achieve or aspire to sainthood have never had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/many-people-genuinely-do-not-wish-to-be-saints-and-it-is-possible/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Many people genuinely do not want to be saints, and it is probable that some who achieve or aspire to sainthood have never felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/many-people-genuinely-do-not-want-to-be-saints-and-it-is-probable/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It takes all sorts to make a world - saints as well as soldiers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-anderson/it-takes-all-sorts-to-make-a-world-saints-as-well-as-soldiers/) [Anthony Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-anderson/) > [“You may of course ask whether we really need to refer to "saints". Wouldn't it suffice just to refer to decent people? It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-emil-frankl/you-may-of-course-ask-whether-we-really-need-to-refer-to-saints/) [Viktor Emil Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-emil-frankl/) > [If we look to the saints, this great luminous wake with which God has passed through history, we truly see that here is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/if-we-look-to-the-saints-this-great-luminous-wake-with-which-god-has/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [The saints differ from us in their exuberance, the excess of our human talents. Moderation is not their secret. It is in the wildness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/the-saints-differ-from-us-in-their-exuberance-the-excess-of-our-human/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [“Serve in the grace of strength within thy soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/serve-in-the-grace-of-strength-within-thy-soul/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Guilty quotes > [Sam reached his hand toward mine and I automatically put my fingers in his. With a guilty little smile he pulled my hand toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/sam-reached-his-hand-toward-mine-and-i-automatically-put-my-fingers/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Never underestimate a man's ability to make you feel guilty for his mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rihanna/never-underestimate-a-man-s-ability-to-make-you-feel-guilty-for-his/) [Rihanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rihanna/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [All of us, whether guilty or not, whether old or young, must accept the past. It is not a case of coming to terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-von-weizsaecker/all-of-us-whether-guilty-or-not-whether-old-or-young-must-accept-the/) [Richard von Weizsaecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-von-weizsaecker/) > [You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed or unworthy. You were created to be victorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-were-never-created-to-live-depressed-defeated-guilty-condemned/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [A criminal trial is never about seeking justice for the victim. If it were, there could be only one verdict: guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/a-criminal-trial-is-never-about-seeking-justice-for-the-victim-if-it/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [Failure in the theater is more dramatic and uglier than any other form of writing. It costs so much, you feel so guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-dramatic-and-uglier-than-any-other/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [The truly just is he who feels half guilty of your misdeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-truly-just-is-he-who-feels-half-guilty-of-your-misdeeds/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [My parents were very supportive of my chess. When I got home after a game of chess, having missed school or something, they always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viswanathan-anand/my-parents-were-very-supportive-of-my-chess-when-i-got-home-after-a/) [Viswanathan Anand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viswanathan-anand/) > [When youre a stay-at-home mother you have to pretend its really boring, but its not. Its enriching and fulfilling, and an amazing experience. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/when-youre-a-stay-at-home-mother-you-have-to-pretend-its-really/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [We Muslims believe that the white race, which is guilty of having oppressed and exploited and enslaved our people here in America, should and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/we-muslims-believe-that-the-white-race-which-is-guilty-of-having/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [LIVING WITH A GUILTY HEART,IS LIFE WITHOUT THE BAR'S.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicia-washington/living-with-a-guilty-heart-is-life-without-the-bar-s/) [Felicia Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicia-washington/) > [It's one thing for a person to live his life as a vacuous shell without fully comprehending the extent of his transgressions, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarek-saab/it-s-one-thing-for-a-person-to-live-his-life-as-a-vacuous-shell/) [Tarek Saab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarek-saab/) > [Charity is the filthiest invention of the human mind: first you steal what belongs to everyone; then you use the law and various other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-g-krishnamurti/charity-is-the-filthiest-invention-of-the-human-mind-first-you-steal/) [U.G. Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-g-krishnamurti/) [Browse all 1,985 Guilty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-until-they-are-proved-innocent-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Guilty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-until-they-are-proved-innocent-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/george-orwell-57_guilty_saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-un_1725411.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/george-orwell-57_guilty_saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-un_1725411.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/george-orwell-57_guilty_saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-un_1725411.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent.” — George Orwell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Saints should always be judged guilty...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-until-they-are-proved-innocent-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/saints-should-always-be-judged-guilty-until-they-are-proved-innocent-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```