--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is certain that stealing nourishes…" description: "\"It is certain that stealing nourishes courage, strength, skill, tact, in a word, all the virtues useful to a republican system and consequently to our ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/marquis-de-sade-1964_aim_it-is-certain-that-stealing-nourishes-co_733505.jpg" --- # It is certain that stealing nourishes courage, strength… ![“It is certain that stealing nourishes courage, strength, skill, tact, in a word, all the virtues useful to a republican system and consequently to our own. Lay partiality aside, and answer me: is theft, whose effect is to distribute wealth more evenly, to be branded as a wrong in our day, under…” quote by Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/marquis-de-sade-1964_aim_it-is-certain-that-stealing-nourishes-co_733505.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/marquis-de-sade-1964_aim_it-is-certain-that-stealing-nourishes-co_733505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/980/marquis-de-sade-1964_aim_it-is-certain-that-stealing-nourishes-co_733505.jpg) > “It is certain that stealing nourishes courage, strength, skill, tact, in a word, all the virtues useful to a republican system and consequently to our own. Lay partiality aside, and answer me: is theft, whose effect is to distribute wealth more evenly, to be branded as a wrong in our day, under our government which aims at equality? Plainly, the answer is no.” [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that theft can develop qualities valued by a republican system, questioning moral condemnation under a government that seeks equality. **In simple terms:** Stealing may build useful skills, but its moral status is debated. Key Takeaway Consider the ethical cost of means used to achieve equality. Themes politics ethics economics virtue equality Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - political debate - policy making - activism - philosophical discussion Key Concepts Republicanism moral relativism social justice Questions to Reflect On - Is skill development worth violating others' rights? - Can equality be achieved without coercion? A Different Perspective The argument overlooks the harm to victims and social trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/) [Answers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answers/) [Branded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/branded/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certain Stealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-stealing-5741159/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Courage strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage-strength/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Partiality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partiality/) [Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican/) [Republican Consequently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican-consequently-5741161/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Stealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stealing/) [Tact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tact/) [Theft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theft/) [Theft Effect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theft-effect-5741160/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [The novelist must look on humanity without partiality or prejudice. 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That everything around you give you its utter attention, think only of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-does-one-want-when-one-is-engaged-in-the-sexual-act-that/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [ The law which attempts a man's life \[capital punishment\] is impractical, unjust, inadmissible. It has never repressed crime--for a second crime is every day… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/the-law-which-attempts-a-man-s-life-capital-punishment-is-impractical/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Between understanding and faith immediate connections must subsist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/between-understanding-and-faith-immediate-connections-must-subsist/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [My passions, concentrated on a single point, resemble the rays of a sun assembled by a magnifying glass: they immediately set fire to whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/my-passions-concentrated-on-a-single-point-resemble-the-rays-of-a-sun/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [The idea of God is the sole wrong for which I cannot forgive mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/the-idea-of-god-is-the-sole-wrong-for-which-i-cannot-forgive-mankind/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Imperious, choleric, irascible, extreme in everything, with a dissolute imagination the like of which has never been seen, atheistic to the point of fanaticism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/imperious-choleric-irascible-extreme-in-everything-with-a-dissolute/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Lust's passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/lust-s-passion-will-be-served-it-demands-it-militates-it-tyrannizes/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [“In order to know virtue, we must acquaint ourselves with vice. Only then can we know the true measure of a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/in-order-to-know-virtue-we-must-acquaint-ourselves-with-vice-only/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [Never may an act of possession be exercised upon a free being; the exclusive possession of a woman is no less unjust than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/never-may-an-act-of-possession-be-exercised-upon-a-free-being-the/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) [Explore all 181 Marquis de Sade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) ## More Aim quotes > [If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/if-you-aim-at-nothing-you-will-hit-it-every-time/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The Christian man must aim at that complete obedience to God in which life finds its highest happiness, its greatest good, its perfect consummation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/the-christian-man-must-aim-at-that-complete-obedience-to-god-in-which/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [In Bosnia, little children shot in the head by a guy who thinks it's okay to aim his gun at a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/in-bosnia-little-children-shot-in-the-head-by-a-guy-who-thinks-it-s/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. 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