1770s, Boston Massacre trial (1770)
Context: It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be punished, for guilt and crimes are so frequent in this world that they cannot all be punished.
But if innocence itself is brought to the bar and condemned, perhaps to die, then the citizen will say, "whether I do good or whether I do evil is immaterial, for innocence itself is no protection," and if such an idea as that were to take hold in the mind of the citizen that would be the end of security whatsoever.
“Because of subconscious guilt, people spend half their lives in self-punishment and the other half taking on more guilt.”
Annotated Drawings by Eugene J. Martin: 1977-1978
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Eugene J. Martin 41
American artist 1938–2005Related quotes
The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess (1979)
Context: The Judge, whose core issue is our sense of worth and value, splits us into Judge and Subject to be Judged. When possessed by the Judge, we live in a world of comparisons, competition, and punishment, constantly rate ourselves and others, feel jealousy and guilt. The Judge seduces us with the false promise that we can gain value if we obey, perform, produce. <!-- p. 238
Quoted in History Channel 5-part series "The Wehrmacht" in the episode "The Crimes".
“Our guilt has its uses. It justifies much in the lives of others.”
Montauk (1975)
“Guilt always hurries towards its complement, punishment; only there does its satisfaction lie.”
The Alexandria Quartet (1957–1960), Justine (1957)
“Half of the people lie with their lips; the other half with their tears”
Source: The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms
To Leon Goldensohn, March 2, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" - by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004