--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh, it is true enough. I may as well be…" description: "\"“Oh, it is true enough. I may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb (an old country saying, not of much account, but it will do for a rough soldier), a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/thomas-hardy-410_far-from-the-madding_oh-it-is-true-enough-i-may-as-well-be-hu_431422.jpg" --- # Oh, it is true enough. I may as well be hung for a sheep… ![“Oh, it is true enough. I may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb (an old country saying, not of much account, but it will do for a rough soldier), and so I will speak my mind, regardless of your pleasure, and without hoping or intending to get your pardon. Why, Miss Everdene, it is in this…” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/thomas-hardy-410_far-from-the-madding_oh-it-is-true-enough-i-may-as-well-be-hu_431422.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/thomas-hardy-410_far-from-the-madding_oh-it-is-true-enough-i-may-as-well-be-hu_431422.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/thomas-hardy-410_far-from-the-madding_oh-it-is-true-enough-i-may-as-well-be-hu_431422.jpg) > ““Oh, it is true enough. I may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb (an old country saying, not of much account, but it will do for a rough soldier), and so I will speak my mind, regardless of your pleasure, and without hoping or intending to get your pardon. Why, Miss Everdene, it is in this manner that your good looks may do more harm than good in the world." The sergeant looked down the mead in critical abstraction. "Probably some one man on an average falls in love with each ordinary woman. She can marry him: he is content, and leads a useful life. Such women as you a hundred men always covet—your eyes will bewitch scores on scores into an unavailing fancy for you—you can only marry one of that many. Out of these say twenty will endeavour to drown the bitterness of despised love in drink; twenty more will mope away their lives without a wish or attempt to make a mark in he world, because they have no ambition apart from their attachment to you; twenty more—the susceptible person myself possibly among them—will be always draggling after you, getting where they may just see you, doing desperate things. Men are such constant fools! The rest may try to get over their passion with more or less success. But all these men will be saddened. And not only those ninety-nine men, but the ninety-nine women they might have married are saddened with them. There's my tale. That's why I say that a woman so charming as yourself, Miss Everdene, is hardly a blessing to her race.”” [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## 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 argues that a beautiful woman's attractiveness brings more trouble than benefit, causing men to suffer and waste lives in unrequited love. **In simple terms:** Beauty can cause suffering for both the admired and admirers. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of charm on others' lives. Themes beauty gender dynamics human folly relationships consequences Mood melancholic critical reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - courtship - social expectations - personal reflection - literary analysis Key Concepts unrequited love social pressure self‑destruction Questions to Reflect On - How does society shape the burden of beauty? - Can attraction be a mutual blessing? A Different Perspective The claim overlooks women’s agency and societal constraints that shape such dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Everdene Manner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everdene-manner-3802218/) [Far-from-the-madding-crowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-from-the-madding-crowd-61654/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Marry Content](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marry-content-3802219/) [Marry Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marry-say-2455965/) [Men Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-constant-3802220/) [Old Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-country/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Ur Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ur-eyes/) [Woman Charming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-charming-668184/) ## Related quotes > [“When the love-led man had ceased from his labours Bathsheba came and looked him in the face. 'Gabriel, will you you stay on with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/when-the-love-led-man-had-ceased-from-his-labours-bathsheba-came-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Seek out some retired and old-world spot, far from the madding crowd, and dream away a sunny week among its drowsy lanes - some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/seek-out-some-retired-and-old-world-spot-far-from-the-madding-crowd/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [“His want of tact had deeply offended her—not by seeing what he could not help, but by letting her know that he had seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomas-hardy/his-want-of-tact-had-deeply-offended-her-not-by-seeing-what-he-could/) [Tomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomas-hardy/) > [“Not everyone believed in marriage then. To marry was to say you believed in the future and in the past, too - that history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/not-everyone-believed-in-marriage-then-to-marry-was-to-say-you/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [Would I marry again? No. But never say never. Why marry? It's a beautiful fortress, but I don't need it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wright/would-i-marry-again-no-but-never-say-never-why-marry-it-s-a-beautiful/) [Robin Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wright/) > [“Not everyone believes in marriage then. To marry was to say you believed in the future and in the past, too – that history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/not-everyone-believes-in-marriage-then-to-marry-was-to-say-you/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [To marry was to say you believed in the future and in the past, too-that history and tradition and hope could stay knit together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/to-marry-was-to-say-you-believed-in-the-future-and-in-the-past-too/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [A woman is always ready to describe another woman as charming, but only if the other woman is not charming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/a-woman-is-always-ready-to-describe-another-woman-as-charming-but/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [Woman is a most charming creature, who changes her heart as easily as she does her gloves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/woman-is-a-most-charming-creature-who-changes-her-heart-as-easily-as/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“The very young woman can be charming and delightful and pretty but only a mature woman can be beautiful; and only a mature man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/the-very-young-woman-can-be-charming-and-delightful-and-pretty-but/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [The American woman is a charming creature. She is of a type most unusual and delightful... And their feet and ankles are the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-patou/the-american-woman-is-a-charming-creature-she-is-of-a-type-most/) [Jean Patou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-patou/) > [Do you know the difference between a beautiful woman and a charming one? A beauty is a woman you notice, a charmer is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-e-stevenson/do-you-know-the-difference-between-a-beautiful-woman-and-a-charming/) [Adlai E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-e-stevenson/) > [“How could any woman be more charming? Thomas turned weightless as he watched Eliza and Kitty walk side-by-side several paces ahead of him, whispering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-lynn-perry/how-could-any-woman-be-more-charming-thomas-turned-weightless-as-he/) [Amber Lynn Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-lynn-perry/) ## More by Thomas Hardy > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“She was in a sound sleep, Jude, dying of anxiety lest she should have caught a chill which might permanently injure her, was glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/she-was-in-a-sound-sleep-jude-dying-of-anxiety-lest-she-should-have/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You ride well, but you don't kiss nicely at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-ride-well-but-you-don-t-kiss-nicely-at-all/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You could sometimes see her twelfth year in her cheeks, or her ninth sparkling from her eyes; and even her fifth would flit over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-could-sometimes-see-her-twelfth-year-in-her-cheeks-or-her-ninth/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It was mid-May time, bringing with it weather not, perhaps, quite so blooming as that assumed to be natural to the month by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-was-mid-may-time-bringing-with-it-weather-not-perhaps-quite-so/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/if-galileo-had-said-in-verse-that-the-world-moved-the-inquisition/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Some folk want their luck buttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/some-folk-want-their-luck-buttered/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Measurement of life should be proportioned rather to the intensity of the experience than to its actual length.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/measurement-of-life-should-be-proportioned-rather-to-the-intensity-of/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“I was court-martialed in my absence, and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/i-was-court-martialed-in-my-absence-and-sentenced-to-death-in-my/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It being the first time in his life that he had touched female fingers under water, Dick duly registered the sensation as rather a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-being-the-first-time-in-his-life-that-he-had-touched-female/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“As soon as she could discern the outline of the house, it had all its old effect upon Tess's imagination. Part of her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/as-soon-as-she-could-discern-the-outline-of-the-house-it-had-all-its/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [ The perfect woman, you see \[is\] a working-woman; not an idler; not a fine lady; but one who \[uses\] her hands and her head… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-perfect-woman-you-see-is-a-working-woman-not-an-idler-not-a-fine/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“The Sinister Spirit sneered: 'It had to be!' And again the Spirit of Pity whispered, 'Why?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-sinister-spirit-sneered-it-had-to-be-and-again-the-spirit-of-pity/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/justice-was-done-and-the-president-of-the-immortals-in-aeschylean/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Explore all 561 Thomas Hardy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## More Far-from-the-madding-crowd quotes > [“When the love-led man had ceased from his labours Bathsheba came and looked him in the face. 'Gabriel, will you you stay on with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/when-the-love-led-man-had-ceased-from-his-labours-bathsheba-came-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“His want of tact had deeply offended her—not by seeing what he could not help, but by letting her know that he had seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomas-hardy/his-want-of-tact-had-deeply-offended-her-not-by-seeing-what-he-could/) [Tomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomas-hardy/) > [Seek out some retired and old-world spot, far from the madding crowd, and dream away a sunny week among its drowsy lanes - some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/seek-out-some-retired-and-old-world-spot-far-from-the-madding-crowd/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) [Browse all 4 Far-from-the-madding-crowd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-from-the-madding-crowd-61654/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Oh, it is true enough. I may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb (an old country saying, not of much account, but it will do for a rough soldier), and so I will speak my mind, regardless of your pleasure, and without hoping or intending to get your pardon. Why, Miss Everdene, it is in this manner that your good looks may do more harm than good in the world.\" The sergeant looked down the mead in critical abstraction. \"Probably some one man on an average falls in love with each ordinary woman. She can marry him: he is content, and leads a useful life. Such women as you a hundred men always covet—your eyes will bewitch scores on scores into an unavailing fancy for you—you can only marry one of that many. Out of these say twenty will endeavour to drown the bitterness of despised love in drink; twenty more will mope away their lives without a wish or attempt to make a mark in he world, because they have no ambition apart from their attachment to you; twenty more—the susceptible person myself possibly among them—will be always draggling after you, getting where they may just see you, doing desperate things. Men are such constant fools! The rest may try to get over their passion with more or less success. But all these men will be saddened. And not only those ninety-nine men, but the ninety-nine women they might have married are saddened with them. There's my tale. That's why I say that a woman so charming as yourself, Miss Everdene, is hardly a blessing to her race.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Hardy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/oh-it-is-true-enough-i-may-as-well-be-hung-for-a-sheep-as-a-lamb-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Far-from-the-madding-crowd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/oh-it-is-true-enough-i-may-as-well-be-hung-for-a-sheep-as-a-lamb-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/thomas-hardy-410_far-from-the-madding_oh-it-is-true-enough-i-may-as-well-be-hu_431422.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/thomas-hardy-410_far-from-the-madding_oh-it-is-true-enough-i-may-as-well-be-hu_431422.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c37/thomas-hardy-410_far-from-the-madding_oh-it-is-true-enough-i-may-as-well-be-hu_431422.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Oh, it is true enough. I may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb (an old country saying, not of much…” — Thomas Hardy", "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": "Thomas Hardy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Oh, it is true enough. I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/oh-it-is-true-enough-i-may-as-well-be-hung-for-a-sheep-as-a-lamb-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/oh-it-is-true-enough-i-may-as-well-be-hung-for-a-sheep-as-a-lamb-an/#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 } } ] } ```