--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A very small offence may be a just cause…" description: "\"A very small offence may be a just cause for great resentment: it is often much less the particular instance which is obnoxious to us than the proof it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b24/sir-fulke-greville-15667_carrie_a-very-small-offence-may-be-a-just-cause_2814969.png" --- # A very small offence may be a just cause for great… ![“A very small offence may be a just cause for great resentment: it is often much less the particular instance which is obnoxious to us than the proof it carries with it of the general tenor and disposition of the mind from whence it sprung.” quote by Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b24/sir-fulke-greville-15667_carrie_a-very-small-offence-may-be-a-just-cause_2814969.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b24/sir-fulke-greville-15667_carrie_a-very-small-offence-may-be-a-just-cause_2814969.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b24/sir-fulke-greville-15667_carrie_a-very-small-offence-may-be-a-just-cause_2814969.png) > “A very small offence may be a just cause for great resentment: it is often much less the particular instance which is obnoxious to us than the proof it carries with it of the general tenor and disposition of the mind from whence it sprung.” [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Minor offenses can trigger disproportionate resentment because they symbolize deeper moral decay. **In simple terms:** Small wrongs can spark big anger. Key Takeaway Address underlying attitudes, not just actions. Themes morality resentment perception Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - workplace conflicts - political debates - personal relationships - social media criticism Key Concepts symbolic meaning psychology of grievance Questions to Reflect On - What deeper values are threatened by the small offense? - How can we respond without inflating resentment? A Different Perspective People may dismiss the broader implication of minor incidents. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Obnoxious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obnoxious/) [Offence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offence/) [Resentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resentment/) [Tenors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenors/) ## Related quotes > [I gotta continue within the offence and just understand it, pick and choose when to attack and things like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-siakam/i-gotta-continue-within-the-offence-and-just-understand-it-pick-and/) [Pascal Siakam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-siakam/) > [The Master said, “If your conduct is determined solely by considerations of profit you will arouse great resentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-master-said-if-your-conduct-is-determined-solely-by/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [It is not unfrequent to hear men declaim loudly upon liberty, who, if we may judge by the whole tenor of their actions, mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/it-is-not-unfrequent-to-hear-men-declaim-loudly-upon-liberty-who-if/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [The saxophone is an imperfect instrument, especially the tenor and soprano, as far as intonation goes. The challenge is to sing on an imperfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-getz/the-saxophone-is-an-imperfect-instrument-especially-the-tenor-and/) [Stan Getz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-getz/) > [ We had Bob's \[Gordon\] records, and he's on Clifford Brown's first record as a leader. I believe it was Clifford Brown's first record as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gordon/we-had-bob-s-gordon-records-and-he-s-on-clifford-brown-s-first-record/) [Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gordon/) > [Prince or commoner, tenor or bass, Painter or plumber or never-do-well, Do me a favor and shut your face - Poets alone should kiss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/prince-or-commoner-tenor-or-bass-painter-or-plumber-or-never-do-well/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [As much as I think John Coltrane belongs on the list, I think without Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, both of whom defined improvising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-mann/as-much-as-i-think-john-coltrane-belongs-on-the-list-i-think-without/) [Herbie Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-mann/) > [Just Donald Trump's tenor and insulting of people is just beyond the pale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-koch/just-donald-trump-s-tenor-and-insulting-of-people-is-just-beyond-the/) [Charles Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-koch/) > [You got to play the flute as a flute, like that. You can't play like a tenor concept on soprano; it sounds wrong. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-richardson/you-got-to-play-the-flute-as-a-flute-like-that-you-can-t-play-like-a/) [Jerome Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-richardson/) > [Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray; Along the cool sequester'd vale of life They kept the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gray/far-from-the-madding-crowd-s-ignoble-strife-their-sober-wishes-never/) [Thomas Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gray/) > [A tenor is not a man but a disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-von-bulow/a-tenor-is-not-a-man-but-a-disease/) [Hans von Bulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-von-bulow/) > [Through the sequester'd vale of rural life The venerable patriarch guileless held The tenor of his way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beilby-porteus/through-the-sequester-d-vale-of-rural-life-the-venerable-patriarch/) [Beilby Porteus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beilby-porteus/) > [By the disposition of a stupendous wisdom, moulding together the great mysterious incorporation of the human race, the whole, at one time, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/by-the-disposition-of-a-stupendous-wisdom-moulding-together-the-great/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The success of our operas rests most of the time in the hands of the conductor. This person is as necessary as a tenor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-verdi/the-success-of-our-operas-rests-most-of-the-time-in-the-hands-of-the/) [Giuseppe Verdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-verdi/) > [He had a bright, reckless tenor that was always wandering off, looking for notes in the wrong places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/he-had-a-bright-reckless-tenor-that-was-always-wandering-off-looking/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) ## More by Sir Fulke Greville > [Removing prejudices is, alas! too often removing the boundary of a delightful near prospect in order to let in a shockingly extensive one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/removing-prejudices-is-alas-too-often-removing-the-boundary-of-a/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [The mind of man is this world's true dimension; and knowledge is the measure of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/the-mind-of-man-is-this-world-s-true-dimension-and-knowledge-is-the/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [We should do by our cunning as we do by our courage--always have it ready to defend ourselves, never to offend others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/we-should-do-by-our-cunning-as-we-do-by-our-courage-always-have-it/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [A lively and agreeable man has not only the merit of liveliness and agreeableness himself, but that also of awakening them in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/a-lively-and-agreeable-man-has-not-only-the-merit-of-liveliness-and/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [I have often thought that the nature of women was interior to that of men in general, but superior in particular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/i-have-often-thought-that-the-nature-of-women-was-interior-to-that-of/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [Good-humor will sometimes conquer ill-humor, but ill-humor will conquer it oftener; and for this plain reason, good-humor must operate on generosity, ill-humor on meanness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/good-humor-will-sometimes-conquer-ill-humor-but-ill-humor-will/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [I hardly know so melancholy a reflection as that parents are necessarily the sole directors of the management of children, whether they have or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/i-hardly-know-so-melancholy-a-reflection-as-that-parents-are/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [Respect is better procured by exacting than soliciting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/respect-is-better-procured-by-exacting-than-soliciting-it/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [We laugh heartily to see a whole flock of sheep jump because one did so. 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