Quotes from book
On Revolution

On Revolution

On Revolution is a 1963 book by political theorist Hannah Arendt. Arendt presents a comparison of two of the main revolutions of the eighteenth century, the American and French Revolutions.


Hannah Arendt photo

“Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to the core.”

Hannah Arendt book On Revolution

On Revolution (1963), ch. 2.
General sources
Context: What makes it so plausible to assume that hypocrisy is the vice of vices is that integrity can indeed exist under the cover of all other vices except this one. Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to the core.

Similar authors

Hannah Arendt photo
Hannah Arendt85
Jewish-American political theorist 1906–1975
Rosa Luxemburg photo
Rosa Luxemburg56
Polish Marxist theorist, socialist philosopher, and revolut… None
Etty Hillesum photo
Etty Hillesum28
Jewish diarist None
Martin Buber photo
Martin Buber58
German Jewish Existentialist philosopher and theologian None
Edith Stein photo
Edith Stein34
Jewish-German nun, theologian and philosopher None
Walter Benjamin photo
Walter Benjamin70
German literary critic, philosopher and social critic (1892… None
Elinor Ostrom photo
Elinor Ostrom4
American political economist None
Kenneth Arrow photo
Kenneth Arrow37
American economist None
Simone de Beauvoir photo
Simone de Beauvoir152
French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, po… None
Max Weber photo
Max Weber41
German sociologist, philosopher, and political economist None