“ A crime persevered in a thousand centuries ceases to be a crime, and becomes a virtue. ”
Mark Twain, Following the Equator (1897). copy citation
| Author | Mark Twain |
|---|---|
| Source | Following the Equator |
| Topic | virtue crime |
| Date | 1897 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2895/2895-h/2895-h.htm |
Context
“The English, the French, and the Spaniards went to work and stole it all over again; and when that was satisfactorily accomplished they went diligently to work and stole it from each other. In Europe and Asia and Africa every acre of ground has been stolen several millions of times. A crime persevered in a thousand centuries ceases to be a crime, and becomes a virtue. This is the law of custom, and custom supersedes all other forms of law. Christian governments are as frank to-day, as open and above-board, in discussing projects for raiding each other’s clothes-lines as ever they were before the Golden Rule came smiling into this inhospitable world and couldn’t get a night’s lodging anywhere.”
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