--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s worse for the guilty than the innocent" description: "\"“It’s worse for the guilty than the innocent”\" — Leo Tolstoy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/660/leo-tolstoy-55_guilty_it-s-worse-for-the-guilty-than-the-innoc_823082.png" --- # It’s worse for the guilty than the innocent ![“It’s worse for the guilty than the innocent” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/660/leo-tolstoy-55_guilty_it-s-worse-for-the-guilty-than-the-innoc_823082.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/660/leo-tolstoy-55_guilty_it-s-worse-for-the-guilty-than-the-innoc_823082.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/660/leo-tolstoy-55_guilty_it-s-worse-for-the-guilty-than-the-innoc_823082.png) > ““It’s worse for the guilty than the innocent”” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Guilt intensifies suffering more than innocence, highlighting moral weight of wrongdoing. **In simple terms:** Guilt hurts more than innocence. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and at guilt. Themes guilt morality innocence conscience Mood somber thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - legal trials - personal betrayals - war crimes - family secrets Key Concepts ethics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does guilt affect your decisions? - Can innocence be a burden? A Different Perspective Innocence can also cause pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) ## Related quotes > [More oftentimes than not, you're automatically guilty before innocent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-anderson/more-oftentimes-than-not-you-re-automatically-guilty-before-innocent/) [Anthony Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-anderson/) > [No one wants a president to be guilty of obstruction of justice. 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Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-k-brown/) > [Whether a man is guilty or innocent, we have to find that out by due process of law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-griffith/whether-a-man-is-guilty-or-innocent-we-have-to-find-that-out-by-due/) [Andy Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-griffith/) > [“In retrospect, though many were guilty, none was innocent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor-2/in-retrospect-though-many-were-guilty-none-was-innocent/) A.J.P. Taylor > [I am not guilty, I am innocent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saddam-hussein/i-am-not-guilty-i-am-innocent/) [Saddam Hussein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saddam-hussein/) > [I believe that no one should be executed, guilty or innocent. 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I'm not a straight-A student or anything. Even so, I figured out how to make an Internet that they can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/i-m-17-years-old-i-m-not-a-straight-a-student-or-anything-even-so-i/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [You know, in Saudi Arabia, you're innocent until proven Jewish. Female. Guilty! They're guilty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/you-know-in-saudi-arabia-you-re-innocent-until-proven-jewish-female/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. 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But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More Guilty quotes > [Sam reached his hand toward mine and I automatically put my fingers in his. 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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 > [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": "“It’s worse for the guilty than the innocent”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Tolstoy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-s-worse-for-the-guilty-than-the-innocent/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Guilty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-s-worse-for-the-guilty-than-the-innocent/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/660/leo-tolstoy-55_guilty_it-s-worse-for-the-guilty-than-the-innoc_823082.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/660/leo-tolstoy-55_guilty_it-s-worse-for-the-guilty-than-the-innoc_823082.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/660/leo-tolstoy-55_guilty_it-s-worse-for-the-guilty-than-the-innoc_823082.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It’s worse for the guilty than the innocent” — Leo Tolstoy", "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": "Leo Tolstoy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It’s worse for the guilty than...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-s-worse-for-the-guilty-than-the-innocent/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-s-worse-for-the-guilty-than-the-innocent/#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 } } ] } ```