He is so corrupt that he would willingly pay for the pleasure of selling himself.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Flaubert critiques extreme moral decay, portraying a person who finds pleasure in their own corruption and self-betrayal. It suggests some prefer shame over integrity.
- In plain terms
- Some people enjoy selling out their own integrity.
- What can you take from it?
- Extreme corruption can feel like pleasure to the depraved.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Where is your moral line?
- Why do people sell out?
Another view
Not everyone who compromises values enjoys it.
More from Gustave Flaubert
Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed in.
Permalink to quote #12 The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level of bourgeois stupidity.
Permalink to quote #14 Exuberance is better than taste:
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