--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is possible that the contemplation of…" description: "\"It is possible that the contemplation of cruelty will not make us humane but cruel; that the reiteration of the badness of our spiritual condition will..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/lionel-trilling-12210_badness_it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of_342223.png" --- # It is possible that the contemplation of cruelty will not… ![“It is possible that the contemplation of cruelty will not make us humane but cruel; that the reiteration of the badness of our spiritual condition will make us consent to it.” quote by Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/lionel-trilling-12210_badness_it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of_342223.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/lionel-trilling-12210_badness_it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of_342223.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/lionel-trilling-12210_badness_it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of_342223.png) > “It is possible that the contemplation of cruelty will not make us humane but cruel; that the reiteration of the badness of our spiritual condition will make us consent to it.” [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemplating cruelty may not make us humane; repeatedly focusing on humanity's badness may lead to acceptance of it. **In simple terms:** Thinking about cruelty can desensitize or normalize it. Key Takeaway Question the impact of focusing on negativity. Themes ethics human nature psychology Mood critical reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - reading dark literature - media consumption - social commentary Key Concepts moral philosophy desensitization Questions to Reflect On - How does repeated exposure to negativity affect behavior? - Can confronting cruelty lead to compassion? A Different Perspective Ignoring positive aspects can reinforce pessimism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consent/) [Contemplation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemplation/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) ## Related quotes > [Humans. Violent but peace-loving. Passionate but cerebral. Humane but cruel. Impulsive but calculating. Generous but selfish. And yet, somehow I knew that they represented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-applegate/humans-violent-but-peace-loving-passionate-but-cerebral-humane-but-2/) [Katherine Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-applegate/) > [“I decide a book is bad if I get angrier and angrier as I read it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-t-o-hara/i-decide-a-book-is-bad-if-i-get-angrier-and-angrier-as-i-read-it/) Daniel T. O'Hara > [Is this how you repay my goodness--with badness?” cried the boy. “Of course,” said the crocodile out of the corner of his mouth. “That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/is-this-how-you-repay-my-goodness-with-badness-cried-the-boy-of/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [When you've been afraid of something for long enough and it comes to pass, the terrible thing is a release. For in the belly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/when-you-ve-been-afraid-of-something-for-long-enough-and-it-comes-to/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The Bible is one long story of God meeting our rebellion with His rescue, our sin with His salvation, our guilt with His grace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-bible-is-one-long-story-of-god-meeting-our-rebellion-with-his/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [Before you^say something Bad to^others ask your-self^why are^you the only one saw^the badness and-->](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-d-r-l-testament/before-you-say-something-bad-to-others-ask-your-self-why-are-you-the/) Junior Dè Rèál Testament > [All the best of the monsters played for sympathy. That goes for my father, Karloff, myself and all the others. They all won the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lon-chaney-jr/all-the-best-of-the-monsters-played-for-sympathy-that-goes-for-my/) Lon Chaney, Jr > [A bad man can do a million times more harm than a beast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-bad-man-can-do-a-million-times-more-harm-than-a-beast/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“But the greatest cause of verbicide is the fact that most people are obviously far more anxious to express their approval and disapproval of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/but-the-greatest-cause-of-verbicide-is-the-fact-that-most-people-are/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? If lewdies are good that's because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/they-don-t-go-into-what-is-the-cause-of-goodness-so-why-of-the-other/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness but my badness, not my merit but my misery, not my riches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-first-link-between-my-soul-and-christ-is-not-my-goodness-but-my/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“If you have had a bad day, remember that tomorrow is a wonderful gift and a new chance to try again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/if-you-have-had-a-bad-day-remember-that-tomorrow-is-a-wonderful-gift/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [A man of bad character punishes his own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ghazali/a-man-of-bad-character-punishes-his-own-soul/) [Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ghazali/) > [I think when you don't know where you stand with someone, they can surprise you in their goodness and their badness, and that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morrissey/i-think-when-you-don-t-know-where-you-stand-with-someone-they-can/) [David Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morrissey/) > [You don't have to be a good person to be a good writer--history shows it's better if you're not--but you have to understand your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abrahams/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-good-person-to-be-a-good-writer-history-shows/) [Peter Abrahams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abrahams/) ## More by Lionel Trilling > [Our culture peculiarly honors the act of blaming, which it takes as the sign of virtue and intellect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/our-culture-peculiarly-honors-the-act-of-blaming-which-it-takes-as/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [The definitions of humanism are many, but let us here take it to be the attitude of those men who think it an advantage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/the-definitions-of-humanism-are-many-but-let-us-here-take-it-to-be/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Literature is the human activity that make the fullest and most precise account of variousness, possibility, complexity, and difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/literature-is-the-human-activity-that-make-the-fullest-and-most/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [A primary function of art andthought is to liberate the individual from the tyranny of his culture in the environmental sense and to permit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/a-primary-function-of-art-andthought-is-to-liberate-the-individual/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Being a Jew is like walking in the wind or swimming: you are touched at all points and conscious everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/being-a-jew-is-like-walking-in-the-wind-or-swimming-you-are-touched/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Every neurosis is a primitive form of legal proceeding in which the accused carries on the prosecution, imposes judgment and executes the sentence: all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/every-neurosis-is-a-primitive-form-of-legal-proceeding-in-which-the/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Some paradox of our natures leads us, when once we have made our fellow men the objects of our enlightened interest, to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/some-paradox-of-our-natures-leads-us-when-once-we-have-made-our/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [In the American Metaphysical, reality is always material reality, hard, resistant, unformed, impenetrable, and unpleasant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/in-the-american-metaphysical-reality-is-always-material-reality-hard/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [“...perhaps we have never been more than vocal and perhaps soon we can hope to be no more than thoughtful...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/perhaps-we-have-never-been-more-than-vocal-and-perhaps-soon-we-can/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [It is now life and not art that requires the willing suspension of disbelief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/it-is-now-life-and-not-art-that-requires-the-willing-suspension-of/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Ideology is not the product of thought; it is the habit or the ritual of showing respect for certain formulas to which, for various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/ideology-is-not-the-product-of-thought-it-is-the-habit-or-the-ritual/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [There is no connection between the political ideas of our educated class and the deep places of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/there-is-no-connection-between-the-political-ideas-of-our-educated/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [The function of literature, through all its mutations, has been to make us aware of the particularity of selves, and the high authority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/the-function-of-literature-through-all-its-mutations-has-been-to-make/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [Unless we insist that politics is imagination and mind, we will learn that imagination and mind are politics, and of a kind we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/unless-we-insist-that-politics-is-imagination-and-mind-we-will-learn/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) > [We who are liberal and progressive know that the poor are our equals in every sense except that of being equal to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/we-who-are-liberal-and-progressive-know-that-the-poor-are-our-equals/) [Lionel Trilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) [Explore all 56 Lionel Trilling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/) ## More Badness quotes > [You don't have to be a good person to be a good writer--history shows it's better if you're not--but you have to understand your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-abrahams/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-good-person-to-be-a-good-writer-history-shows/) [Peter Abrahams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-abrahams/) > [I think when you don't know where you stand with someone, they can surprise you in their goodness and their badness, and that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morrissey/i-think-when-you-don-t-know-where-you-stand-with-someone-they-can/) [David Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morrissey/) > [A man of bad character punishes his own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ghazali/a-man-of-bad-character-punishes-his-own-soul/) [Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ghazali/) > [“If you have had a bad day, remember that tomorrow is a wonderful gift and a new chance to try again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/if-you-have-had-a-bad-day-remember-that-tomorrow-is-a-wonderful-gift/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness but my badness, not my merit but my misery, not my riches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-first-link-between-my-soul-and-christ-is-not-my-goodness-but-my/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? If lewdies are good that's because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/they-don-t-go-into-what-is-the-cause-of-goodness-so-why-of-the-other/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“But the greatest cause of verbicide is the fact that most people are obviously far more anxious to express their approval and disapproval of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/but-the-greatest-cause-of-verbicide-is-the-fact-that-most-people-are/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [A bad man can do a million times more harm than a beast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-bad-man-can-do-a-million-times-more-harm-than-a-beast/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All the best of the monsters played for sympathy. That goes for my father, Karloff, myself and all the others. They all won the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lon-chaney-jr/all-the-best-of-the-monsters-played-for-sympathy-that-goes-for-my/) Lon Chaney, Jr > [Before you^say something Bad to^others ask your-self^why are^you the only one saw^the badness and-->](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-d-r-l-testament/before-you-say-something-bad-to-others-ask-your-self-why-are-you-the/) Junior Dè Rèál Testament > [The Bible is one long story of God meeting our rebellion with His rescue, our sin with His salvation, our guilt with His grace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-bible-is-one-long-story-of-god-meeting-our-rebellion-with-his/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [When you've been afraid of something for long enough and it comes to pass, the terrible thing is a release. For in the belly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/when-you-ve-been-afraid-of-something-for-long-enough-and-it-comes-to/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Is this how you repay my goodness--with badness?” cried the boy. “Of course,” said the crocodile out of the corner of his mouth. “That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/is-this-how-you-repay-my-goodness-with-badness-cried-the-boy-of/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [“I decide a book is bad if I get angrier and angrier as I read it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-t-o-hara/i-decide-a-book-is-bad-if-i-get-angrier-and-angrier-as-i-read-it/) Daniel T. O'Hara > [ If you’re comparing the badness of two words and you won’t even say one of them \[the n-word\], that’s the worse word. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mulaney/if-you-re-comparing-the-badness-of-two-words-and-you-won-t-even-say/) [John Mulaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mulaney/) Browse all 124 Badness quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is possible that the contemplation of cruelty will not make us humane but cruel; that the reiteration of the badness of our spiritual condition will make us consent to it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lionel Trilling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of-cruelty-will-not-make-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Badness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of-cruelty-will-not-make-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/lionel-trilling-12210_badness_it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of_342223.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/lionel-trilling-12210_badness_it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of_342223.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/lionel-trilling-12210_badness_it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of_342223.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is possible that the contemplation of cruelty will not make us humane but cruel; that the reiteration of…” — Lionel Trilling", "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": "Lionel Trilling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-trilling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is possible that the contemplation...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of-cruelty-will-not-make-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-trilling/it-is-possible-that-the-contemplation-of-cruelty-will-not-make-us/#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 } } ] } ```