Overlook our deeds, since you know that crime was absent from our inclination.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Judge actions based on intent rather than outcome since crime was not in the intent. Innocence of motive matters more than result.
- In plain terms
- Do not blame someone for bad results if they did not intend harm.
- What can you take from it?
- Judge intent before judging outcomes.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Was the harm intentional?
- How do you judge others?
Another view
Good intentions do not always prevent harmful results.
More from Ovid
Our minds are circumscribed by our immediate reality but we stop short at the thought of it.
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