--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where secrecy or mystery begins, vice or…" description: "\"Where secrecy or mystery begins, vice or roguery is not far off.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/samuel-johnson-50_evil_where-secrecy-or-mystery-begins-vice-or_2977524.png" --- # Where secrecy or mystery begins, vice or roguery is not… ![“Where secrecy or mystery begins, vice or roguery is not far off.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/samuel-johnson-50_evil_where-secrecy-or-mystery-begins-vice-or_2977524.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/samuel-johnson-50_evil_where-secrecy-or-mystery-begins-vice-or_2977524.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/samuel-johnson-50_evil_where-secrecy-or-mystery-begins-vice-or_2977524.png) > “Where secrecy or mystery begins, vice or roguery is not far off.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mystery breeds secrecy, which often leads to vice, suggesting a link between unknowns and immoral behavior. **In simple terms:** Mystery leads to vice. Key Takeaway Address unknowns directly. Themes secrecy vice human nature Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - investigations - transparent communication - ethical training Key Concepts moral psychology curiosity ethical decay Questions to Reflect On - How does secrecy affect morality? - What safeguards prevent vice? A Different Perspective Not all mystery causes vice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Begins Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begins-vice-4614190/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Mystery Begins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery-begins-1490511/) [Secrecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrecy/) [Secrecy Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrecy-mystery-4614189/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Vice Roguery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-roguery-4614188/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [A proper secrecy is the only mystery of able men; mystery is the only secrecy of weak and cunning ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/a-proper-secrecy-is-the-only-mystery-of-able-men-mystery-is-the-only/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [The difference is too nice - Where ends the virtue or begins the vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-difference-is-too-nice-where-ends-the-virtue-or-begins-the-vice/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Where mystery begins religion ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/where-mystery-begins-religion-ends/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [It may interest you to know that my breakup with Terry and this mystery did not happen concurrently in real life. That is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armistead-maupin/it-may-interest-you-to-know-that-my-breakup-with-terry-and-this/) [Armistead Maupin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armistead-maupin/) > [Everybody knows worse of himself than he knows of other men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/everybody-knows-worse-of-himself-than-he-knows-of-other-men/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [To tell your own secrets is generally folly, but that folly is without guilt; to communicate those with which we are intrusted is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/to-tell-your-own-secrets-is-generally-folly-but-that-folly-is-without/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The vanity of being known to be trusted with a secret is generally one of the chief motives to disclose it; for, however absurd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-vanity-of-being-known-to-be-trusted-with-a-secret-is-generally/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The whole question of pornography seems to me a question of secrecy. Without secrecy there would be no pornography. But secrecy and modesty are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-whole-question-of-pornography-seems-to-me-a-question-of-secrecy/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [No man, however enslaved to his appetites, or hurried by his passions, can, while he preserves his intellects unimpaired, please himself with promoting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-man-however-enslaved-to-his-appetites-or-hurried-by-his-passions/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nothing is more common than for men to make partial and absurd distinctions between vices of equal enormity, and to observe some of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nothing-is-more-common-than-for-men-to-make-partial-and-absurd/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If misery be the effect of virtue, it ought to be reverenced; if of ill-fortune, to be pitied; and if of vice, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-misery-be-the-effect-of-virtue-it-ought-to-be-reverenced-if-of-ill/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pride is a vice, which pride itself inclines every man to find in others, and to overlook in himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pride-is-a-vice-which-pride-itself-inclines-every-man-to-find-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Our public officials have forgotten that they are ultimately accountable to the people who put them in office, that the information they keep in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/our-public-officials-have-forgotten-that-they-are-ultimately/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“You can never let your compassion stand in the way of justice because when you do, other people get hurt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/you-can-never-let-your-compassion-stand-in-the-way-of-justice-because/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Where secrecy or mystery begins, vice or roguery is not far off.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/where-secrecy-or-mystery-begins-vice-or-roguery-is-not-far-off/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/where-secrecy-or-mystery-begins-vice-or-roguery-is-not-far-off/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/samuel-johnson-50_evil_where-secrecy-or-mystery-begins-vice-or_2977524.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/samuel-johnson-50_evil_where-secrecy-or-mystery-begins-vice-or_2977524.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/845/samuel-johnson-50_evil_where-secrecy-or-mystery-begins-vice-or_2977524.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Where secrecy or mystery begins, vice or roguery is not far off.” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Where secrecy or mystery begins, vice...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/where-secrecy-or-mystery-begins-vice-or-roguery-is-not-far-off/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/where-secrecy-or-mystery-begins-vice-or-roguery-is-not-far-off/#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 } } ] } ```