Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Admitting to petty bribes while dismissing their significance.
In plain terms
I take bribes but only puppies, so it's different.
What can you take from it?
Small bribes feel acceptable to some.

Where it applies

  • political critique
  • moral discussion

Putting it to work

  • analyze rationalization
  • discuss ethics

Questions to consider

  • Does amount change corruption?
  • Where is the line?

Another view

It normalizes bribery regardless of size.

More from Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol

  1. The more destruction there is everywhere, the more it shows the activity of town authorities.

    Permalink to quote #6
  2. The sergeant's widow told you a lie when she said I flogged her. I never flogged her. She flogged herself.

    Permalink to quote #8
  3. Of course, Alexander the Great was a hero, but why smash the chairs?

    Permalink to quote #5

Related quotes

  1. I won't eat anything that has intelligent life, but I'd gladly eat a network executive or a politician. [2]

    Marty FeldmanMarty Feldman quote #7
  2. If one permits an infidel to continue in his role as a corrupter of the earth, his moral suffering will be all the worse. If one kills the infidel, and this st…

    Ruhollah KhomeiniRuhollah Khomeini quote #12
  3. He is so corrupt that he would willingly pay for the pleasure of selling himself.

    Gustave FlaubertGustave Flaubert quote #13