Fyodor Dostoevsky,
The Brothers Karamazov — Part III, Book IX, Chapter 7
(1880)
“ So in that case I should be a scoundrel, but not a thief, you may say what you like, not a thief!""I admit that there is a certain distinction," said the prosecutor, with a cold smile. "But it's strange that you see such a vital difference.""Yes, I see a vital difference. Every man may be a scoundrel, and perhaps every man is a scoundrel, but not everyone can be a thief; it takes an arch-scoundrel to be that. Oh, of course, I don't know how to make these fine distinctions... but a thief is lower than a scoundrel, that's my conviction. ”
