--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The old man in the beard he felt…" description: "\"“The old man in the beard he felt convinced was wrong. He was too busy saving his own soul. Wasn't it better to take part even in the crimes of people ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/graham-greene-441_old-man_the-old-man-in-the-beard-he-felt-convinc_1790255.jpg" --- # The old man in the beard he felt convinced was wrong. He… ![“The old man in the beard he felt convinced was wrong. He was too busy saving his own soul. Wasn't it better to take part even in the crimes of people you loved, if it was necessary hate as they did, and if that were the end of everything suffer damnation with them rather than be saved alone?” quote by Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/graham-greene-441_old-man_the-old-man-in-the-beard-he-felt-convinc_1790255.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/graham-greene-441_old-man_the-old-man-in-the-beard-he-felt-convinc_1790255.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61b/graham-greene-441_old-man_the-old-man-in-the-beard-he-felt-convinc_1790255.jpg) > ““The old man in the beard he felt convinced was wrong. He was too busy saving his own soul. Wasn't it better to take part even in the crimes of people you loved, if it was necessary hate as they did, and if that were the end of everything suffer damnation with them rather than be saved alone?”” [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker wrestles with moral compromise, questioning whether joining loved ones' wrongdoings is preferable to solitary salvation, highlighting the tension between collective guilt and personal redemption. **In simple terms:** Choosing to share guilt may seem better than being saved alone. Key Takeaway Consider the cost of shared guilt vs. isolated redemption. Themes morality guilt redemption family crime hate Mood conflicted thoughtful Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - family crises - political resistance - personal moral decisions Key Concepts ethical dilemma existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - Is shared suffering always preferable? - When does loyalty become moral compromise? A Different Perspective Complicity can erode personal integrity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beard Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beard-felt-1939290/) [Damnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damnation/) [Damnation Saved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damnation-saved-1939288/) [Necessary Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-hate-1939289/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Sociology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociology/) [Suffer Damnation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffer-damnation-1939287/) [Too busy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-busy/) ## Related quotes > [... if you love your country why is it necessary to hate other countries?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/if-you-love-your-country-why-is-it-necessary-to-hate-other-countries/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“All that is really necessary to hate someone is not to give a shit about what happens to him. 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Shall we lull them into soft slumbers from which they will awake in hell? Are we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/shall-we-keep-men-in-a-fool-s-paradise-shall-we-lull-them-into-soft/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Intolerance has always been one of the cornerstones of Christianity - the glorious heritage of the Inquisition. 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Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. 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Damn me, I deserve it, but let her live forever.’ This was the love he should have felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-said-oh-god-help-her-damn-me-i-deserve-it-but-let-her-live-forever/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“A police photograph is like a passport photograph: the intelligence which casts a veil over the crude common shape is never recorded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-police-photograph-is-like-a-passport-photograph-the-intelligence/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/success-is-more-dangerous-than-failure-the-ripples-break-over-a-wider/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“But we do not love people for what they do for us. Love happens to us; it isn't created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/but-we-do-not-love-people-for-what-they-do-for-us-love-happens-to-us/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) [Explore all 550 Graham Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## More Damnation quotes > [Shall we keep men in a fool's paradise? Shall we lull them into soft slumbers from which they will awake in hell? 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