---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is there any moral enormity which might…"
description: "\"Is there any moral enormity which might not be justified by imitation of such a Deity?\" — John Stuart Mill"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/john-stuart-mill-477_character_is-there-any-moral-enormity-which-might_2869284.png"
---

#  Is there any moral enormity which might not be justified…

![“Is there any moral enormity which might not be justified by imitation of such a Deity?” quote by John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/john-stuart-mill-477_character_is-there-any-moral-enormity-which-might_2869284.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/john-stuart-mill-477_character_is-there-any-moral-enormity-which-might_2869284.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/john-stuart-mill-477_character_is-there-any-moral-enormity-which-might_2869284.png)

> “Is there any moral enormity which might not be justified by imitation of such a Deity?”

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He questions whether any moral act can be justified solely by imitation of a divine being, probing the limits of moral authority.

**In simple terms:** Can morality be justified only by copying a deity?

Key Takeaway

Question moral foundations.

Themes

ethics philosophy authority

Mood

inquisitive critical

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- theological debates
- ethical education
- personal moral decisions

Key Concepts

moral reasoning religious influence autonomy

Questions to Reflect On

- Is imitation necessary for moral behavior?
- What other sources guide morality?

A Different Perspective

Moral justification may also arise from reason and empathy, not just imitation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Deities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deities/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/)

## Related quotes

> [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/)

[Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/)

> [Hubbard set up the Church of Scientology in Hollywood in 1954 for a reason. He understood that celebrity was increasingly a feature of American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-wright/hubbard-set-up-the-church-of-scientology-in-hollywood-in-1954-for-a/)

[Lawrence Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-wright/)

> [Death is the inseparable antecedent of life; the seed dies in order to produce the plant, and earth itself is rent asunder and dies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/death-is-the-inseparable-antecedent-of-life-the-seed-dies-in-order-to/)

[Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/)

> [Since we have been out of balance so heavily towards the male, it is going to be the feminine energy which will now move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/since-we-have-been-out-of-balance-so-heavily-towards-the-male-it-is/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [In my personal view, a failure to discover unimagined objects and answer unasked questions, once HST functions properly, would indicate a lack of imagination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-n-bahcall/in-my-personal-view-a-failure-to-discover-unimagined-objects-and/)

[John N. Bahcall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-n-bahcall/)

> [The difference of the English and Irish character is nowhere more plainly discerned than in their respective kitchens. With the former, this apartment is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-difference-of-the-english-and-irish-character-is-nowhere-more/)

[Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/)

> [This is insane," I said blankly. "I'm the instrument of an all-powerful primordial deity's wave of chaos and destruction." "That's kind of extreme" said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/this-is-insane-i-said-blankly-i-m-the-instrument-of-an-all-powerful/)

[Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/)

> [When you enter a grove peopled with ancient trees, higher than the ordinary, and shutting out the sky with their thickly inter-twined branches, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-enter-a-grove-peopled-with-ancient-trees-higher-than-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If I had to choose between the two ways of approaching the deity, I should prefer the existential relational way, to the abstract philosophical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/if-i-had-to-choose-between-the-two-ways-of-approaching-the-deity-i/)

[Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/)

> [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/)

[Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/)

> [No parent can consistently teach faith in Christ who profanes the name of Deity. Profanity is never heard in the well-ordered home. Swearing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/no-parent-can-consistently-teach-faith-in-christ-who-profanes-the/)

[David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/)

> [The moral perfections of the Deity, the more attentively, we consider, the more perfectly still shall we know them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-moral-perfections-of-the-deity-the-more-attentively-we-consider/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [In the interests of everyone the artist had a responsibility to use his medium well. In the Tibetan culture, most of the paintings are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/in-the-interests-of-everyone-the-artist-had-a-responsibility-to-use/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [My days were not days of the week, bearing the stamp of any heathen deity, nor were they minced into hours and fretted by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/my-days-were-not-days-of-the-week-bearing-the-stamp-of-any-heathen/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

## More by John Stuart Mill

> [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [Liberty lies in the rights of that person whose views you find most odious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/liberty-lies-in-the-rights-of-that-person-whose-views-you-find-most/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [Truth emerges from the clash of adverse ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/truth-emerges-from-the-clash-of-adverse-ideas/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [“No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the great majority are so by force of poverty; they are still chained to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/no-longer-enslaved-or-made-dependent-by-force-of-law-the-great/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [All acts suppose certain dispositions, and habits of mind and heart, which may be in themselves states of enjoyment or of wretchedness, and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-acts-suppose-certain-dispositions-and-habits-of-mind-and-heart/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [Unfortunately for the good sense of mankind, the fact of their fallibility is far from carrying the weight in their practical judgement, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/unfortunately-for-the-good-sense-of-mankind-the-fact-of-their/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [“In history, as in traveling, men usually see only what they already had in their own minds; and few learn much from history, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/in-history-as-in-traveling-men-usually-see-only-what-they-already-had/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [All errors which a man is likely to commit against advice are far outweighed by the evil of allowing others to constrain him for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-errors-which-a-man-is-likely-to-commit-against-advice-are-far/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [Every great movement must experience three stages: ridicule, discussion, adoption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/every-great-movement-must-experience-three-stages-ridicule-discussion/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [The successful conduct of an industrial enterprise requires two quite distinct qualifications: fidelity and zeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-successful-conduct-of-an-industrial-enterprise-requires-two-quite/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [ “\[For people\] to refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/for-people-to-refuse-a-hearing-to-an-opinion-because-they-are-sure/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [This is what writers mean when they say that the notion of cause involves the idea of necessity. If there be any meaning which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/this-is-what-writers-mean-when-they-say-that-the-notion-of-cause/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [“Protection, therefore, against tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/protection-therefore-against-tyranny-of-the-magistrate-is-not-enough/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [Landlords grow rich in their sleep without working, risking or economizing. The increase in the value of land, arising as it does from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/landlords-grow-rich-in-their-sleep-without-working-risking-or/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [There is one characteristic of the present direction of public opinion, peculiarly calculated to make it intolerant of any marked demonstration of individuality. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/there-is-one-characteristic-of-the-present-direction-of-public/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

[Explore all 524 John Stuart Mill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

## More Character quotes

> [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/)

[Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/)

> [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/)

[Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/)

> [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/)

[Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/)

> [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/)

David Hudgins

> [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/)

[Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/)

> [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/)

[Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/)

> [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/)

[Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/)

> [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/)

[Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/)

> [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/)

[Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/)

> [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/)

[Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/)

> [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/)

[Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/)

[Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Is there any moral enormity which might not be justified by imitation of such a Deity?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Stuart Mill"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/is-there-any-moral-enormity-which-might-not-be-justified-by-imitation/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Character"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/is-there-any-moral-enormity-which-might-not-be-justified-by-imitation/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/john-stuart-mill-477_character_is-there-any-moral-enormity-which-might_2869284.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/john-stuart-mill-477_character_is-there-any-moral-enormity-which-might_2869284.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/john-stuart-mill-477_character_is-there-any-moral-enormity-which-might_2869284.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Is there any moral enormity which might not be justified by imitation of such a Deity?” — John Stuart Mill",
                "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": "John Stuart Mill",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Is there any moral enormity which...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/is-there-any-moral-enormity-which-might-not-be-justified-by-imitation/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/is-there-any-moral-enormity-which-might-not-be-justified-by-imitation/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
