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If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination. Once begun upon this downward path, you never know where you are to stop. Many a man has dated his ruin from some murder or other that perhaps he thought little of at the time.

Thomas De Quincey#2

MoralityChoicesConsequencesEthicsHabits

About this quote

What does it mean?
Small sins can lead to a chain of worse actions and eventual ruin.
In plain terms
One bad choice can lead to many worse ones.
What can you take from it?
Guard against small compromises early.

Where it applies

  • facing temptation
  • making choices
  • reflecting on habits

Putting it to work

  • setting boundaries
  • ethical decision making
  • habit tracking

Questions to consider

  • What small habits lead to big issues?
  • How do you stop bad cycles?

Another view

Not all people follow this path.

More from Thomas De Quincey

  1. Dyspepsy is the ruin of most things: empires, expeditions, and everything else.

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  2. The burden of the incommunicable.

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  3. Call for the grandest of all earthly spectacles, what is that? It is the sun going to his rest. Call for the grandest of all human sentiments, what is that? It…

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