--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: General good is the plea of the…" description: "\"General good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocite, flatterer.\" — William Blake" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/534/william-blake-397_altruism_general-good-is-the-plea-of-the-scoundre_1711452.jpg" --- # General good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocite… ![“General good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocite, flatterer.” quote by William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/534/william-blake-397_altruism_general-good-is-the-plea-of-the-scoundre_1711452.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/534/william-blake-397_altruism_general-good-is-the-plea-of-the-scoundre_1711452.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/534/william-blake-397_altruism_general-good-is-the-plea-of-the-scoundre_1711452.jpg) > “General good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocite, flatterer.” [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑interest masks as virtue; true good requires honesty, not deceitful flattery. **In simple terms:** Goodness isn’t false praise. Key Takeaway Seek authentic integrity. Themes morality integrity hypocrisy social critique Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - leadership - public discourse - personal relationships - media analysis Key Concepts ethics philosophy political satire Questions to Reflect On - When have you faced a moral dilemma? - How to balance truth with social harmony? A Different Perspective Sometimes honesty can be socially costly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Altruism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altruism/) [Flatterer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flatterer/) [General Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-good-612007/) [Good Plea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-plea-1250627/) [Hypocrit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrit/) [Hypocrite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hypocrite/) [Organized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organized/) [Plea Scoundrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plea-scoundrel-1250626/) [Scoundrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scoundrel/) [Scoundrel Hypocite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scoundrel-hypocite-1250625/) [Scoundrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scoundrels/) ## Related quotes > [He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars: General Good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite and flatterer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/he-who-would-do-good-to-another-must-do-it-in-minute-particulars-3/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [I understand that it is a maxim of law, that a poor plea may be a good plea to a bad declaration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-understand-that-it-is-a-maxim-of-law-that-a-poor-plea-may-be-a-good/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/he-who-would-do-good-to-another-must-do-it-in-minute-particulars/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars: general Good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite, and flatterer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/he-who-would-do-good-to-another-must-do-it-in-minute-particulars-2/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [How inexpressible is the meanness of being a hypocrite! how horrible is it to be a mischievous and malignant hypocrite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/how-inexpressible-is-the-meanness-of-being-a-hypocrite-how-horrible/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [As witnesses not of our intentions but of our conduct, we can be true or false, and the hypocrite's crime is that he bears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/as-witnesses-not-of-our-intentions-but-of-our-conduct-we-can-be-true/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Those whose conduct gives room for talk are always the first to attack their neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/those-whose-conduct-gives-room-for-talk-are-always-the-first-to/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [If it were not for the intellectual snobs who pay - in solid cash - the arts would perish with their starving practitioners. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/if-it-were-not-for-the-intellectual-snobs-who-pay-in-solid-cash-the/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Only the hypocrite is really rotten to the core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/only-the-hypocrite-is-really-rotten-to-the-core/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Nothing causes more consternation in a group of hypocrits than one honest man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/nothing-causes-more-consternation-in-a-group-of-hypocrits-than-one/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [If Satan ever laughs, it must be at hypocrites; they are the greatest dupes he has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/if-satan-ever-laughs-it-must-be-at-hypocrites-they-are-the-greatest-2/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Hypocrites do the devil's drudgery in Christ's livery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/hypocrites-do-the-devil-s-drudgery-in-christ-s-livery/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [Every society, all government, and every kind of civil compact therefore, is or ought to be, calculated for the general good and safety of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/every-society-all-government-and-every-kind-of-civil-compact/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [Not all design is for the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paola-antonelli/not-all-design-is-for-the-general-good/) [Paola Antonelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paola-antonelli/) > [Individual misfortunes give rise to the general good; so that the more individual misfortunes exist, the more all is fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/individual-misfortunes-give-rise-to-the-general-good-so-that-the-more/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More by William Blake > [Poetry fettered, fetters the human race. Nations are destroyed or flourish in proportion as their poetry, painting, and music are destroyed or flourish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/poetry-fettered-fetters-the-human-race-nations-are-destroyed-or/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Where any view of money exists, art cannot be carried on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/where-any-view-of-money-exists-art-cannot-be-carried-on/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [God only acts and is, in existing beings or men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/god-only-acts-and-is-in-existing-beings-or-men/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Kill not the moth nor butterfly, For the Last Judgement draweth nigh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/kill-not-the-moth-nor-butterfly-for-the-last-judgement-draweth-nigh/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The world of imagination is the world of eternity. It is the divine bosom into which we shall all go after death of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-world-of-imagination-is-the-world-of-eternity-it-is-the-divine/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Imagination is the real and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/imagination-is-the-real-and-eternal-world-of-which-this-vegetable/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Painters are noted for being dissipated and wild.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/painters-are-noted-for-being-dissipated-and-wild/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Time is the mercy of Eternity; without Time's swiftness Which is the swiftest of all things, all were eternal torment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/time-is-the-mercy-of-eternity-without-time-s-swiftness-which-is-the/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The difference between a bad artist and a good one is: the bad artist seems to copy a great deal; the good one really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-difference-between-a-bad-artist-and-a-good-one-is-the-bad-artist/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Cruelty has a human heart, and jealousy a human face. Terror, the human form divine, And secrecy, the human dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/cruelty-has-a-human-heart-and-jealousy-a-human-face-terror-the-human/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [A dead body revenges not injuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/a-dead-body-revenges-not-injuries/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained; and the restrainer or reason usurps its place & governs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/those-who-restrain-desire-do-so-because-theirs-is-weak-enough-to-be/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [To generalize is to be an idiot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/to-generalize-is-to-be-an-idiot/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [THE POISON TREE I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-poison-tree-i-was-angry-with-my-friend-i-told-my-wrath-my-wrath/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [The bird a nest the spider a web the human friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-bird-a-nest-the-spider-a-web-the-human-friendship/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) [Explore all 592 William Blake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) ## More Altruism quotes > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“...True classical dropouts in society are those who avoid difficult challenges and cling to the first opportunity that comes their way. They never test…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/true-classical-dropouts-in-society-are-those-who-avoid-difficult/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“Take a stand that reflects the widest horizons of your soul if you don’t want to be a slave to external powers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/take-a-stand-that-reflects-the-widest-horizons-of-your-soul-if-you/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [One of the great issues in biology is the origin of altruism - of why you would do something for someone else that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/one-of-the-great-issues-in-biology-is-the-origin-of-altruism-of-why/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/how-selfish-soever-man-may-be-supposed-there-are-evidently-some/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Restoration ecology is experimental science, a science of love and altruism. In its attempts to reverse the processes of ecosystem degradation it runs exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-mills/restoration-ecology-is-experimental-science-a-science-of-love-and/) [Stephanie Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-mills/) > [“...of all the nonsense that twists the world, the concept of 'altruism' is the worst. People do what they want to do, every time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/of-all-the-nonsense-that-twists-the-world-the-concept-of-altruism-is/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Only a fool would find happiness from an achievement that is detrimental to those he loves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/only-a-fool-would-find-happiness-from-an-achievement-that-is/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordell-hull/never-insult-an-alligator-until-after-you-have-crossed-the-river/) [Cordell Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordell-hull/) > [“…the purpose of life is to nurture joy, which involves those aspects of humanity that enrich the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-nurture-joy-which-involves-those-aspects-of/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“Whatever they say about it, but being altruistic is not so simple for everyone. Not to look and sound like despotism, altruism must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-biyuts/whatever-they-say-about-it-but-being-altruistic-is-not-so-simple-for/) [Lara Biyuts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-biyuts/) > [Effective altruism is the form of altruism in which we bring our rational capacities to bear in order to do the most good that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/effective-altruism-is-the-form-of-altruism-in-which-we-bring-our/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“Societies and people that come close to being happy are those that do well in narrowing the disparity between their desires and their needs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/societies-and-people-that-come-close-to-being-happy-are-those-that-do/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“Most of the truly kind people of this world show some measure of discomfort when offered kindness. Their gratitude stems not only from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/most-of-the-truly-kind-people-of-this-world-show-some-measure-of/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) [Browse all 419 Altruism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altruism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "General good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocite, flatterer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Blake" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/general-good-is-the-plea-of-the-scoundrel-hypocite-flatterer/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Altruism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/general-good-is-the-plea-of-the-scoundrel-hypocite-flatterer/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/534/william-blake-397_altruism_general-good-is-the-plea-of-the-scoundre_1711452.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/534/william-blake-397_altruism_general-good-is-the-plea-of-the-scoundre_1711452.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/534/william-blake-397_altruism_general-good-is-the-plea-of-the-scoundre_1711452.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“General good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocite, flatterer.” — William Blake", "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": "William Blake", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "General good is the plea of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/general-good-is-the-plea-of-the-scoundrel-hypocite-flatterer/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/general-good-is-the-plea-of-the-scoundrel-hypocite-flatterer/#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 } } ] } ```