The most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you cut away the fat.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
Sin is cruelty and injustice, all else is peccadillo. Oh, a sense of sin comes from violating the customs of your tribe. But breaking custom is not sin even when it feels so; sin is wronging another person.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Sin is primarily about causing harm to others, not simply breaking societal customs.
In this quote, Robert A. Heinlein articulates a profound perspective on the nature of sin, suggesting that true sin arises from acts of cruelty and injustice that wrong others, rather than merely violating societal norms or customs. He highlights that the feeling of sin can often be tied to cultural expectations, but emphasizes that moral wrongness is inherently linked to the impact one's actions have on other people, rather than adherence to tradition.
Themes
SinCrueltyInjusticeCustomsMorality
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on ethics, one might use this quote to discuss the true nature of morality.
More from Robert A. Heinlein
All quotes →An armed society is a polite society.
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Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried.
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Long human words (the longer the better) were easy, unmistakable, and rarely changed their meanings . . . but short words were slippery, unpredictable, changing their meanings without any pattern.
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Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.
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When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere.
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