--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Crucifixion and other historical…" description: "\"The Crucifixion and other historical precedents notwithstanding, many of us still believe that outstanding goodness is a kind of armor, that virtue, se..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/mary-mccarthy-2691_armor_the-crucifixion-and-other-historical-pre_791269.png" --- # The Crucifixion and other historical precedents… ![“The Crucifixion and other historical precedents notwithstanding, many of us still believe that outstanding goodness is a kind of armor, that virtue, seen plain and bare, gives pause to criminality. But perhaps it is the other way around.” quote by Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/mary-mccarthy-2691_armor_the-crucifixion-and-other-historical-pre_791269.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/mary-mccarthy-2691_armor_the-crucifixion-and-other-historical-pre_791269.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/mary-mccarthy-2691_armor_the-crucifixion-and-other-historical-pre_791269.png) > “The Crucifixion and other historical precedents notwithstanding, many of us still believe that outstanding goodness is a kind of armor, that virtue, seen plain and bare, gives pause to criminality. But perhaps it is the other way around.” [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote challenges the notion that virtue protects against wrongdoing, suggesting that goodness may not deter crime. **In simple terms:** Virtue may not shield from crime. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of moral armor. Themes ethics human nature crime Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - law enforcement - education - community building - personal conduct Key Concepts philosophy social psychology Questions to Reflect On - Can virtue alone prevent wrongdoing? - What other safeguards are needed? A Different Perspective Overlooks systemic factors influencing crime. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Armor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armor/) [Armor Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armor-virtue-6075785/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Criminality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminality/) [Crucifixion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crucifixion/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Outstanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outstanding/) [Pauses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pauses/) [Precedent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precedent/) [Precedents Notwithstanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precedents-notwithstanding-6075786/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-seen-592831/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Is any one able for one day to apply his strength to virtue? I have not seen the case in which his strength would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/is-any-one-able-for-one-day-to-apply-his-strength-to-virtue-i-have/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [ As early as 1776, \[John Adams\] expressed his doubts about America's capacity for virtue. "I have seen all along my Life, Such Selfishness, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-s-wood/as-early-as-1776-john-adams-expressed-his-doubts-about-america-s/) [Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-s-wood/) > [“The Master said, "I have not seen a person who loved virtue, or one who hated what was not virtuous. He who loved virtue,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-master-said-i-have-not-seen-a-person-who-loved-virtue-or-one-who/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [And all knowledge, when separated from justice and virtue, is seen to be cunning and not wisdom; wherefore make this your first and last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/and-all-knowledge-when-separated-from-justice-and-virtue-is-seen-to/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“As an artist you look into yourself to understand the human potential to be all kinds of things that are not necessarily pleasant but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cronenberg/as-an-artist-you-look-into-yourself-to-understand-the-human-potential/) [David Cronenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cronenberg/) > [For the superior morality, of which we hear so much, we too would desire to be thankful: at the same time, it were but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/for-the-superior-morality-of-which-we-hear-so-much-we-too-would/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Indeed, what is startling about the notion of a victimless crime is that even when the behavior in question is genuinely victimless, its criminality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/indeed-what-is-startling-about-the-notion-of-a-victimless-crime-is/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Make your way to death row and speak with the tragic victims of criminality. As they prepare to make their pathetic walk to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/make-your-way-to-death-row-and-speak-with-the-tragic-victims-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Do you see law and order? There is nothing but disorder, and instead of law there is the illusion of security. It is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mumia-abu-jamal/do-you-see-law-and-order-there-is-nothing-but-disorder-and-instead-of/) [Mumia Abu-Jamal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mumia-abu-jamal/) > [When my father made 'Jean de Florette' and 'Manon des Sources' back to back, everybody said, 'Why two movies?' But you need two movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-langmann/when-my-father-made-jean-de-florette-and-manon-des-sources-back-to/) [Thomas Langmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-langmann/) > [The fact that Universal Jurisdiction exists in relation to serious international crimes does convey two important aspects of the global reality: first, that such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-falk/the-fact-that-universal-jurisdiction-exists-in-relation-to-serious/) [Richard A. Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/) > [Criminality is a basic part of human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-frost/criminality-is-a-basic-part-of-human-nature/) [Mark Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-frost/) > [ISIS simply do not have ideological, theological, or popular support. And this is a criminal organization that is funding their criminality with things like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalia-mogahed/isis-simply-do-not-have-ideological-theological-or-popular-support/) [Dalia Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalia-mogahed/) > [We think criminality is something that exists in somehow another world to us. But actually, there is an invisible criminal web in which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-watkins/we-think-criminality-is-something-that-exists-in-somehow-another/) [James Watkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-watkins/) > [Criminality is now legal. I guess criminal racketeering these days would be like burning little children at the stake or something. That's about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-jones/criminality-is-now-legal-i-guess-criminal-racketeering-these-days/) [Alex Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-jones/) ## More by Mary McCarthy > [From what I have seen, I am driven to the conclusion that religion is only good for good people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/from-what-i-have-seen-i-am-driven-to-the-conclusion-that-religion-is/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Yet friendship, I believe, is essential to intellectuals. It is probably the growth hormone the mind requires as it begins its activity of producing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/yet-friendship-i-believe-is-essential-to-intellectuals-it-is-probably/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Any sizeable Portuguese town looks like a superstitious bride's finery - something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/any-sizeable-portuguese-town-looks-like-a-superstitious-bride-s/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The desire to believe the best of people is a prerequisite for intercourse with strangers; suspicion is reserved for friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-desire-to-believe-the-best-of-people-is-a-prerequisite-for/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [ “She considered \[her\] life, which had not been a life but only a sort of greeting, a Hello There.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/she-considered-her-life-which-had-not-been-a-life-but-only-a-sort-of/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [America is indeed a revelation, though not quite the one that was planned. Given a clean slate, man, it was hoped, would write the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/america-is-indeed-a-revelation-though-not-quite-the-one-that-was/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The happy ending is our national belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-happy-ending-is-our-national-belief/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Making love, we are all more alike than we are when we are talking or acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/making-love-we-are-all-more-alike-than-we-are-when-we-are-talking-or/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [... in America ... children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-america-children-are-instructed-in-the-virtues-of-the-system-they/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [The only form of action open to a child is to break something or strike someone, its mother or another child; it cannot cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/the-only-form-of-action-open-to-a-child-is-to-break-something-or/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Combativeness was, I suppose, the dominant trait in my grandmother's nature. An aggressive churchgoer, she was quite without Christian feeling; the mercy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/combativeness-was-i-suppose-the-dominant-trait-in-my-grandmother-s/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [I'm afraid I'm not sufficiently inhibited about the things that other women are inhibited about for me. They feel that you've given away trade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/i-m-afraid-i-m-not-sufficiently-inhibited-about-the-things-that-other/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Be truthful... and pay attention. I would also recommend the avoidance of credit cards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/be-truthful-and-pay-attention-i-would-also-recommend-the-avoidance-of/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [All ideas advanced to deal with the Florentine noise problem, the Florentine traffic problem, are Utopian, and nobody believes in them, just as nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/all-ideas-advanced-to-deal-with-the-florentine-noise-problem-the/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) [Explore all 154 Mary McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) ## More Armor quotes > [We will make sure our troops have all that is necessary to complete their missions. That's why I went to the Congress last September…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-will-make-sure-our-troops-have-all-that-is-necessary-to-complete/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“Tonight, I'll strip off all this armor and let it be as it was before..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/tonight-i-ll-strip-off-all-this-armor-and-let-it-be-as-it-was-before/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [In other words,when GOD is finish, he will be a REAL MAN, but a Man of armor.''](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-poet-of-agent-times/in-other-words-when-god-is-finish-he-will-be-a-real-man-but-a-man-of/) [The Poet Of Agent Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-poet-of-agent-times/) > [My grandmother had six kids - one died as an infant - and she was dirt-poor, and all her kids got an education. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-alibar/my-grandmother-had-six-kids-one-died-as-an-infant-and-she-was-dirt/) [Lucy Alibar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-alibar/) > [It's a question of dropping the armor and getting up and doing the work you want to do. And film at first is frightening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-dowd/it-s-a-question-of-dropping-the-armor-and-getting-up-and-doing-the/) [Ann Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-dowd/) > [She looked at me. "What? Is there something wrong with my idea?" "It's not very heroic," I said dismissively. "I was expecting something with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/she-looked-at-me-what-is-there-something-wrong-with-my-idea-it-s-not/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [In any story, the villain is the catalyst. The hero's not a person who will bend the rules or show the cracks in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/in-any-story-the-villain-is-the-catalyst-the-hero-s-not-a-person-who/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [“It’s our own individual pattern of defenses, rationalizations, paradigms—our ways of responding to anything that threatens our comfort. Unless we’re careful to remain open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-our-own-individual-pattern-of-defenses-rationalizations/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They can't touch us. We're the Vikings. We go into battle without armor for the flush and the blood of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/they-can-t-touch-us-we-re-the-vikings-we-go-into-battle-without-armor/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [He shone all over. 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When we declare ignorance, it should be a) honest and b) in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/is-there-a-wrong-way-to-say-i-don-t-know-yes-when-we-declare/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [Successful people are able to rise above crises by relaxing no matter what the external situation. Their belief in themselves, the strength of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-maltz/successful-people-are-able-to-rise-above-crises-by-relaxing-no-matter/) [Maxwell Maltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-maltz/) > [I put on an act sometimes, and people think I’m insensitive. Really, it’s like a kind of armor because I’m too sensitive. If there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-brando/i-put-on-an-act-sometimes-and-people-think-i-m-insensitive-really-it/) [Marlon Brando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-brando/) [Browse all 390 Armor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Crucifixion and other historical precedents notwithstanding, many of us still believe that outstanding goodness is a kind of armor, that virtue, seen plain and bare, gives pause to criminality. 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