--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They denied the obvious with the same…" description: "\"“They denied the obvious with the same boldness because all of them believed that harvesting rubber and making money was a Christian ideal that justifi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/mario-vargas-llosa-1493_atrocities_they-denied-the-obvious-with-the-same-bo_1619363.png" --- # They denied the obvious with the same boldness because all… ![“They denied the obvious with the same boldness because all of them believed that harvesting rubber and making money was a Christian ideal that justified the worst atrocities against pagans who, of course, were always cannibals and killers of their own children. When” quote by Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/mario-vargas-llosa-1493_atrocities_they-denied-the-obvious-with-the-same-bo_1619363.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/mario-vargas-llosa-1493_atrocities_they-denied-the-obvious-with-the-same-bo_1619363.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/mario-vargas-llosa-1493_atrocities_they-denied-the-obvious-with-the-same-bo_1619363.png) > ““They denied the obvious with the same boldness because all of them believed that harvesting rubber and making money was a Christian ideal that justified the worst atrocities against pagans who, of course, were always cannibals and killers of their own children. When”” [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People justified cruelty by claiming economic pursuits were morally righteous, revealing dangerous rationalizations. **In simple terms:** Economic motives can mask evil. Key Takeaway Question moral justifications. Themes ethics power colonialism Mood critical serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - historical analysis - political debate - social critique Key Concepts moral rationalization economic exploitation Questions to Reflect On - What drives societies to excuse violence? - How can we uncover hidden motives? A Different Perspective Rationalizations may be self‑deceptive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atrocities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocities/) [Atrocities Pagans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocities-pagans-249483/) [Cannibals Killers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cannibals-killers-249484/) [Christian Ideal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-ideal-249485/) [Making money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-money/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Pagans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pagans/) ## Related quotes > [“For even those who have renounced Christianity and attack it still follow the Christian ideal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/for-even-those-who-have-renounced-christianity-and-attack-it-still/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [Universalism as an ideal is as old as nay, is probably much more ancient than the Christian ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-keith/universalism-as-an-ideal-is-as-old-as-nay-is-probably-much-more/) [Arthur Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-keith/) > [The great ideals of the past failed not by being outlived (which must mean over-lived), but by not being lived enough. Mankind has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-great-ideals-of-the-past-failed-not-by-being-outlived-which-must/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [We can think of Lent as a time to eradicate evil or cultivate virtue, a time to pull up weeds or to plant good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/we-can-think-of-lent-as-a-time-to-eradicate-evil-or-cultivate-virtue-2/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Even those who have renounced Christianity and attack it, in their inmost being still follow the Christian ideal, for hitherto neither their subtlety nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/even-those-who-have-renounced-christianity-and-attack-it-in-their/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Paganism is that view of life which finds the highest goal of human existence in the healthy and harmonious and joyous development of existing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/paganism-is-that-view-of-life-which-finds-the-highest-goal-of-human/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the Bible, man is only free to submit or be damned. His one freedom is the renunciation of that freedom. He finds his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-benoist/in-the-bible-man-is-only-free-to-submit-or-be-damned-his-one-freedom/) [Alain de Benoist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-benoist/) > [Love is a Christian word, Anjin-san. Love is a Christian thought, a Christian ideal. We have no word for 'love' as I understand you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clavell/love-is-a-christian-word-anjin-san-love-is-a-christian-thought-a/) [James Clavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clavell/) > [The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-christian-ideal-has-not-been-tried-and-found-wanting-it-has-been/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We can think of Lent as a time to eradicate evil or cultivate virtue, a time to pull up weeds or to plant good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/we-can-think-of-lent-as-a-time-to-eradicate-evil-or-cultivate-virtue/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“The science of this world, which has become a great power, has, especially in the last century, analysed everything divine handed down to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-science-of-this-world-which-has-become-a-great-power-has/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [The true Christian ideal is not to be happy but to be holy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/the-true-christian-ideal-is-not-to-be-happy-but-to-be-holy/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“The concepts of mercy and humility were not just unappreciated in pagan culture, they were ridiculed by men of the highest learning. The idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-carroll/the-concepts-of-mercy-and-humility-were-not-just-unappreciated-in/) [Vincent Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-carroll/) > [Homer, Hesiod, Pythagoras, Plato, and Cicero, just to name a few, all lived in pagan societies. Some of the greatest political and military leaders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/homer-hesiod-pythagoras-plato-and-cicero-just-to-name-a-few-all-lived/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) > [“Tea was the order of the day, neat for the hardened drinker or containing a tot of whiskey for those who liked it watered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-carlton/tea-was-the-order-of-the-day-neat-for-the-hardened-drinker-or/) [Carole Carlton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-carlton/) ## More by Mario Vargas Llosa > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than this truth that invariably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/nothing-better-protects-a-human-being-against-the-stupidity-of/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [I learnt to read when I was five, and I think that is the most important thing that happened to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-learnt-to-read-when-i-was-five-and-i-think-that-is-the-most/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Death isn't enough. It doesn't remove the stain. But a slap, a whiplash, square on the face, does. Because a man's face is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/death-isn-t-enough-it-doesn-t-remove-the-stain-but-a-slap-a-whiplash/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The writer’s job is to write with rigor, with commitment, to defend what they believe with all the talent they have. I think that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/the-writer-s-job-is-to-write-with-rigor-with-commitment-to-defend/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The truths that seem most truthful, if you look at them from all sides, if you look at them close up, turn out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/the-truths-that-seem-most-truthful-if-you-look-at-them-from-all-sides/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [That is one thing I am sure of amid my many uncertainties regarding the literary vocation: deep inside, a writer feels that writing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/that-is-one-thing-i-am-sure-of-amid-my-many-uncertainties-regarding/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Revolution will free society of its afflictions, while science will free the individual of his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/revolution-will-free-society-of-its-afflictions-while-science-will/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [I think if you're impregnated with good literature, with good culture, you're much more difficult to manipulate, and you're much more aware of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-if-you-re-impregnated-with-good-literature-with-good-culture/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Each book, for me, has been an adventure, a period of time dedicated to study, to document certain facts, to traveling, and also to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/each-book-for-me-has-been-an-adventure-a-period-of-time-dedicated-to/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Reading good literature is an experience of pleasure...but it is also an experience of learning what and how we are, in our human integrity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/reading-good-literature-is-an-experience-of-pleasure-but-it-is-also/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“O comes o te comen, no hay más remedio.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/o-comes-o-te-comen-no-hay-m-s-remedio/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“they knew what we’re doing for them, they’d kiss our feet. But mentally they are closer to the crocodile and the hippopotamus than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/they-knew-what-we-re-doing-for-them-they-d-kiss-our-feet-but-mentally/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Iraq is better without Saddam Hussein than with Saddam Hussein. Without a doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/iraq-is-better-without-saddam-hussein-than-with-saddam-hussein/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [When I was growing up, the Spanish-speaking world was Balkanized. We were isolated. We didn't know what was happening in cultural terms in Ecuador,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/when-i-was-growing-up-the-spanish-speaking-world-was-balkanized-we/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) [Explore all 166 Mario Vargas Llosa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) ## More Atrocities quotes > [A furious Peeta hammers Haymitch with the atrocity he could become party to, but I can feel Haymitch watching me. This is the moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/a-furious-peeta-hammers-haymitch-with-the-atrocity-he-could-become/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“I do not know where Viktor and Rudolf were taken. I cannot find the records. I never Elisabeth or Iggie. It is possible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/i-do-not-know-where-viktor-and-rudolf-were-taken-i-cannot-find-the/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [I have become convinced, through my studies, that the only way to achieve a safe, just and viable world is to live by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-have-become-convinced-through-my-studies-that-the-only-way-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Yet only the atrocities of the conquered are referred to as criminal acts; those of the conqueror are justified as necessary, heroic, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/yet-only-the-atrocities-of-the-conquered-are-referred-to-as-criminal/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“I don't know how to stop the atrocities. I don't know how to make people care. But looking into my sister's eyes, we seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shannon/i-don-t-know-how-to-stop-the-atrocities-i-don-t-know-how-to-make/) [Lisa Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shannon/) > [War is horrible no matter what. There's going to be atrocities, there's going to be horrible things that happen in war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hoffman/war-is-horrible-no-matter-what-there-s-going-to-be-atrocities-there-s/) [Mike Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-hoffman/) > [Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-is-the-only-animal-that-deals-in-that-atrocity-of-atrocities-war/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Well before September 11, it was understood that with modern technology, the rich and powerful will lose their near monopoly of the means of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/well-before-september-11-it-was-understood-that-with-modern/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Every Christian who studies history can only grieve over the atrocities that have been committed in the name of God by people who refuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berit-kjos/every-christian-who-studies-history-can-only-grieve-over-the/) [Berit Kjos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berit-kjos/) > [Fanatics can justify practically any atrocity to themselves. The more untenable their position becomes, the harder they hold to it, and the worse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/fanatics-can-justify-practically-any-atrocity-to-themselves-the-more/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [We must never forget the atrocities of slavery as we continue to work towards equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-n-green/we-must-never-forget-the-atrocities-of-slavery-as-we-continue-to-work/) [Al N. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-n-green/) > [“The terrified men did not move. Then Nadia Fedin did something instinctive; she drew her Nagant revolver and fired three short bursts into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kge-konkel/the-terrified-men-did-not-move-then-nadia-fedin-did-something/) [KGE Konkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kge-konkel/) > [Human beings can be redeemed. Empires cannot. Our refusal to face the truth about empire, our refusal to defy the multitudinous crimes and atrocities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/human-beings-can-be-redeemed-empires-cannot-our-refusal-to-face-the/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) [Browse all 335 Atrocities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They denied the obvious with the same boldness because all of them believed that harvesting rubber and making money was a Christian ideal that justified the worst atrocities against pagans who, of course, were always cannibals and killers of their own children. 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