--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Look through the whole history of…" description: "\"Look through the whole history of countries professing the Romish religion, and you will uniformly find the leaven of this besetting and accursed princ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_action_look-through-the-whole-history-of-countr_1487704.jpg" --- # Look through the whole history of countries professing the… ![“Look through the whole history of countries professing the Romish religion, and you will uniformly find the leaven of this besetting and accursed principle of action - that the end will sanction any means.” quote by Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_action_look-through-the-whole-history-of-countr_1487704.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_action_look-through-the-whole-history-of-countr_1487704.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/samuel-taylor-coleridge-425_action_look-through-the-whole-history-of-countr_1487704.jpg) > “Look through the whole history of countries professing the Romish religion, and you will uniformly find the leaven of this besetting and accursed principle of action - that the end will sanction any means.” [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History shows that the belief that ends justify means leads to moral compromise and dangerous outcomes. **In simple terms:** Ends justify means is dangerous. Key Takeaway Beware of moral shortcuts. Themes ethics history politics Mood critical cautionary Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political policy - legal decisions - personal choices Key Concepts consequentialism moral relativism Questions to Reflect On - What are the costs of compromising ethics? - Can any end truly justify any means? A Different Perspective Not all ends are noble; means matter too. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Catholicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholicism/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sanction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanction/) [Sanctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanctions/) ## Related quotes > [Not taking the Bible (or other texts based on 'revealed truths') literally leaves it up to the reader to cherry-pick elements for belief. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-tayler/not-taking-the-bible-or-other-texts-based-on-revealed-truths/) [Jeffrey Tayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-tayler/) > [It is exceedingly deleterious to withdraw the sanction of religion from amusement. If we feel that it is all injurious we should strip the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/it-is-exceedingly-deleterious-to-withdraw-the-sanction-of-religion/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [But a law, however venerable be the sanction, cannot suddenly transform the temper of the times . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/but-a-law-however-venerable-be-the-sanction-cannot-suddenly-transform/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [I'm no saint, but there are times when I simply cannot sanction freedom from responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-steranko/i-m-no-saint-but-there-are-times-when-i-simply-cannot-sanction/) [Jim Steranko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-steranko/) > [I do not exclude this, but I would like to draw your attention to one absolutely key aspect: In line with international law, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/i-do-not-exclude-this-but-i-would-like-to-draw-your-attention-to-one/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [We believe that unilateral sanctions violate international law, in fact. They violate free trade. They violate human growth and development, human development, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-rouhani/we-believe-that-unilateral-sanctions-violate-international-law-in/) [Hassan Rouhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-rouhani/) > [Where the great force lies, there must be the sanction of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/where-the-great-force-lies-there-must-be-the-sanction-of-peace/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The sanction of force stands behind the medley of personal orders and regulations of Martial Law. The sanction of the people's consent stands behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zulfikar-ali-bhutto/the-sanction-of-force-stands-behind-the-medley-of-personal-orders-and/) [Zulfikar Ali Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zulfikar-ali-bhutto/) > [Charity and good-nature give a sanction to the most common actions; and pride and ill-nature make our best virtues despicable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/charity-and-good-nature-give-a-sanction-to-the-most-common-actions/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [We understand that the Iranian position is very bad because of the well-known sanctions against that country, and it would be unfair to leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/we-understand-that-the-iranian-position-is-very-bad-because-of-the/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/i-need-no-warrant-for-being-and-no-word-of-sanction-upon-my-being-i/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [You create a work of art. You do not know whether it will get public sanction. Sometimes outstanding films do no business, and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dev-anand/you-create-a-work-of-art-you-do-not-know-whether-it-will-get-public/) [Dev Anand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dev-anand/) > [To discuss evil in a manner implying neutrality, is to sanction it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/to-discuss-evil-in-a-manner-implying-neutrality-is-to-sanction-it/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [If the person who can effectively sanction ill-conceived wars can play the electric guitar, which is a symbol of rebellion, then that whole worldview…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-coogan/if-the-person-who-can-effectively-sanction-ill-conceived-wars-can/) [Steve Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-coogan/) > [The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-evil-of-the-world-is-made-possible-by-nothing-but-the-sanction/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Samuel Taylor Coleridge > [Humor is consistent with pathos, whilst wit is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/humor-is-consistent-with-pathos-whilst-wit-is-not/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The first duty of a wise advocate is to convince his opponents that he understands their arguments, and sympathies with their just feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-first-duty-of-a-wise-advocate-is-to-convince-his-opponents-that/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Facts are not truths; they are not conclusions; they are not even premises, but in the nature and parts of premises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/facts-are-not-truths-they-are-not-conclusions-they-are-not-even/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [I do not wish you to act from these truths; no, still and always act from your feelings; only meditate often on these truths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/i-do-not-wish-you-to-act-from-these-truths-no-still-and-always-act/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket. 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