--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know a 'crime against nature' when I…" description: "\"I know a 'crime against nature' when I see one. It is usually a sign of crimes against nature that we cannot bear to see them at all, that we recoil an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/matthew-scully-12509_advise_i-know-a-crime-against-nature-when-i-see_2029975.png" --- # I know a 'crime against nature' when I see one. It is… ![“I know a 'crime against nature' when I see one. It is usually a sign of crimes against nature that we cannot bear to see them at all, that we recoil and hide our eyes, and no one has ever cringed at the sight of a soybean factory. I also know phony arguments when I hear them--unbridled appetite…” quote by Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/matthew-scully-12509_advise_i-know-a-crime-against-nature-when-i-see_2029975.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/matthew-scully-12509_advise_i-know-a-crime-against-nature-when-i-see_2029975.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d6/matthew-scully-12509_advise_i-know-a-crime-against-nature-when-i-see_2029975.png) > “I know a 'crime against nature' when I see one. It is usually a sign of crimes against nature that we cannot bear to see them at all, that we recoil and hide our eyes, and no one has ever cringed at the sight of a soybean factory. I also know phony arguments when I hear them--unbridled appetite passing itself off as altruism, and human arrogance in the guise of solemn 'duty.' We must, as C.S. Lewis advises, 'reject with detestation that covert propoganda for cruelty which tries to drive mercy out of the world by calling it names such as 'Humanitarianism' and 'Sentimentality.” [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker condemns environmental destruction and false altruism, urging rejection of propaganda that disguises cruelty as humanitarianism. **In simple terms:** Reject false kindness that hides harm to nature. Key Takeaway Stand against environmental exploitation. Themes environment ethics propaganda Mood urgent concerned Type activist ethical When to use this quote - policy advocacy - community education - supporting sustainable businesses - voting for green legislation - personal lifestyle changes Key Concepts moral responsibility activism human arrogance Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals expose hidden environmental harms? - What alternatives replace deceptive ‘humanitarian’ narratives? A Different Perspective Changing systemic practices is difficult and may face resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Altruism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altruism/) [Appetite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appetite/) [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Humanitarianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanitarianism/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Sentimentality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimentality/) [Solemn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solemn/) [Soybeans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soybeans/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Humans have committed many crimes against nature, but one of the greatest is disrupting the general silence and tranquillity of the natural world!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/humans-have-committed-many-crimes-against-nature-but-one-of-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The planet does nothing but support us, and we are constantly committing crimes against nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-zuniga/the-planet-does-nothing-but-support-us-and-we-are-constantly/) [Daphne Zuniga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-zuniga/) > [“For a while, it was as poisonous and wrenching as it had been since the day it happened, as intolerable: a crime against nature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/for-a-while-it-was-as-poisonous-and-wrenching-as-it-had-been-since/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [The crime against nature will never make any great progress in society unless people are prompted to it by some particular custom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/the-crime-against-nature-will-never-make-any-great-progress-in/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [Some crime against nature is about to be committed. I feel it in my veins. These men and boys are grocers and clerks, gardeners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/some-crime-against-nature-is-about-to-be-committed-i-feel-it-in-my/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [In the best of times, our days are numbered anyway. So it would be a crime against nature for any generation to take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/in-the-best-of-times-our-days-are-numbered-anyway-so-it-would-be-a/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [Nobody in this world was born to be the same as anyone else. Turning people into robots, especially children, is a crime against nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-miscavige-hill/nobody-in-this-world-was-born-to-be-the-same-as-anyone-else-turning/) Jenna Miscavige Hill > [An attack upon our ability to tell stories is not just censorship - it is a crime against our nature as human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/an-attack-upon-our-ability-to-tell-stories-is-not-just-censorship-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Husband and wife are like the two equal parts of a soybean. If the two parts are put under the earth separately, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baba-hari-dass/husband-and-wife-are-like-the-two-equal-parts-of-a-soybean-if-the-two/) [Baba Hari Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baba-hari-dass/) > [I had to drive to Minneapolis once, and went on a back road just to see the country. But there was nothing to see.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-had-to-drive-to-minneapolis-once-and-went-on-a-back-road-just-to/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Real nutrition comes from soybeans, almonds, rice, and other healthy vegetable sources, not from a cow's udder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/real-nutrition-comes-from-soybeans-almonds-rice-and-other-healthy/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Raising crops to feed animals for human consumption requires a lot of land. It takes eight or nine cows a year to feed one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/raising-crops-to-feed-animals-for-human-consumption-requires-a-lot-of/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) > [You may not think you eat a lot of corn and soybeans, but you do: 75 percent of the vegetable oils in your diet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/you-may-not-think-you-eat-a-lot-of-corn-and-soybeans-but-you-do-75/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Inhabitants of underdeveloped nations and victims of natural disasters are the only people who have ever been happy to see soybeans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/inhabitants-of-underdeveloped-nations-and-victims-of-natural/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [“Similar cautions apply to whole soybeans and edamame.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davis/similar-cautions-apply-to-whole-soybeans-and-edamame/) [William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davis/) ## More by Matthew Scully > [“at their disposal. So they assemble in protests to convey their objections. What’s wrong with that? A similar outpouring came recently from American Walter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/at-their-disposal-so-they-assemble-in-protests-to-convey-their/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [Perhaps that is part of the animals' role among us, to awaken humility, to turn our minds back to the mystery of things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/perhaps-that-is-part-of-the-animals-role-among-us-to-awaken-humility/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [The truth is that at the White House and in Congress, you are as likely to find sympathy for animal issues among Republicans as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/the-truth-is-that-at-the-white-house-and-in-congress-you-are-as/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [Animals are more than ever a test of our character, of mankind's capacity for empathy and for decent, honorable conduct and faithful stewardship. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/animals-are-more-than-ever-a-test-of-our-character-of-mankind-s/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“When a man’s love of finery clouds his moral judgment, that is vanity. When he lets a demanding palate make his moral choices, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/when-a-man-s-love-of-finery-clouds-his-moral-judgment-that-is-vanity/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“In any case I just cannot imagine attaching so much importance to any food or treat that I would grow irate or bitter at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/in-any-case-i-just-cannot-imagine-attaching-so-much-importance-to-any/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [Factory farming, like comparable evils throughout history, depends for its existence upon concealment. It depends on people either not noticing or willfully averting their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/factory-farming-like-comparable-evils-throughout-history-depends-for/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [When we call something unfair or indecent or unconscionable or evil, when we speak of mercy and pity and compassion, those words have meaning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/when-we-call-something-unfair-or-indecent-or-unconscionable-or-evil/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [Regarding factory-farmed animals We owe them a merciful death, and we owe them a merciful life. And when human beings cannot do something humanely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/regarding-factory-farmed-animals-we-owe-them-a-merciful-death-and-we/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [An environmentalist can oppose factory farming because it's reckless stewardship. A conservative can oppose factory farming because it is destructive to small farmers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/an-environmentalist-can-oppose-factory-farming-because-it-s-reckless/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“I think he overlook a phase: that empathy stage in our lives when we may begin to see even the commonest animals on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/i-think-he-overlook-a-phase-that-empathy-stage-in-our-lives-when-we/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“The corporate farmer is the absent farmer, the stranger on his own property, too important to worry about little details like whether a pig…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/the-corporate-farmer-is-the-absent-farmer-the-stranger-on-his-own/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“Reforms will come as all great reforms have always come in ridding us of evils against both man and animal--not as we change our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/reforms-will-come-as-all-great-reforms-have-always-come-in-ridding-us/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“I know many people far more upright and conscientous than I am who disagree, who think nothing of it. I know that vegetarianism runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/i-know-many-people-far-more-upright-and-conscientous-than-i-am-who/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [“If animals are just commodities, then we are just consumers, with no greater good than material pleasure and no higher law than appetite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/if-animals-are-just-commodities-then-we-are-just-consumers-with-no/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) [Explore all 54 Matthew Scully quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) ## More Advise quotes > [Choosing a job or business is the same thing. I'm not the best one to advise someone how to make billions of dollars; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-roy/choosing-a-job-or-business-is-the-same-thing-i-m-not-the-best-one-to/) [Rachel Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-roy/) > [Buddhism advises you not to implant feelings that you don’t really have or avoid feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always advise people not to act upon the advice that I give them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-always-advise-people-not-to-act-upon-the-advice-that-i-give-them/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Sometimes curiosity is a poison, not only for those who drink it but for everyone around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-norman-lippert/sometimes-curiosity-is-a-poison-not-only-for-those-who-drink-it-but/) [G. Norman Lippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-norman-lippert/) > [Dont ever wrestle with a pig u'll both get dirty but the pig will enj0y it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/udechukwu-d0navan/dont-ever-wrestle-with-a-pig-u-ll-both-get-dirty-but-the-pig-will/) Udechukwu D0navan > [Some writing courses will advise you to write what you know. I've always thought this is very odd advice ... because it means, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/some-writing-courses-will-advise-you-to-write-what-you-know-i-ve/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [I advise women to invest in real estate. It is the collateral to be preferred above all others, and the safest means of investing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hetty-green/i-advise-women-to-invest-in-real-estate-it-is-the-collateral-to-be/) Hetty Green > [You bomb ISIL. You're not trying to bomb innocent people. And that requires intelligence and confidence in our military to be able to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/you-bomb-isil-you-re-not-trying-to-bomb-innocent-people-and-that/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [God is a spirit. Jesus was led up of the Spirit to be tempted of the Devil; and it is also true that spirits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradlaugh/god-is-a-spirit-jesus-was-led-up-of-the-spirit-to-be-tempted-of-the/) [Charles Bradlaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradlaugh/) > [I do not allow fan-fiction. The characters are copyrighted. It upsets me terribly to even think about fan-fiction with my characters. I advise my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-do-not-allow-fan-fiction-the-characters-are-copyrighted-it-upsets/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Only a foolish man wil keep on doing one ting and expect another result](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordons/only-a-foolish-man-wil-keep-on-doing-one-ting-and-expect-another/) Gordons > [I do believe that where there is a choice between cowardice and non-violence I would advise violence. Thus when my eldest son asked me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-believe-that-where-there-is-a-choice-between-cowardice-and-non/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [You are lucky in life if you have the right heroes. I advise all of you, to the extent you can, to pick out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/you-are-lucky-in-life-if-you-have-the-right-heroes-i-advise-all-of/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“I don't advise. You mutn't give any weight to what I say, except in so far as your own judgment approves it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/i-don-t-advise-you-mutn-t-give-any-weight-to-what-i-say-except-in-so/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [Parents can only advise their children or point them in the right direction. Ultimately people shape their own characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/parents-can-only-advise-their-children-or-point-them-in-the-right/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) Browse all 507 Advise quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know a 'crime against nature' when I see one. It is usually a sign of crimes against nature that we cannot bear to see them at all, that we recoil and hide our eyes, and no one has ever cringed at the sight of a soybean factory. I also know phony arguments when I hear them--unbridled appetite passing itself off as altruism, and human arrogance in the guise of solemn 'duty.' We must, as C.S. 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