He threatens many that hath injured one.
—Ben Jonson (1572–1637) English Dramatist, Poet, Actor
If poverty is the mother of crimes, want of sense is the father of them.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
A first impulse was never a crime.
—Pierre Corneille (1606–84) French Poet, Dramatist
Singularity is almost invariably a clue. The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult is it to bring it home.
—Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) Scottish Writer
War should be made a crime, and those who instigate it should be punished as criminals.
—Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948) American Judge, Lawyer, Politician
Crimes, like virtues, are their own rewards.
—George Farquhar (1677–1707) Irish Dramatist
Crime is terribly revealing. Try and vary your methods as you will, your tastes, your habits, your attitude of mind, and your soul is revealed by your actions.
—Agatha Christie (1890–1976) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
Crime when it succeeds is called virtue.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
Locks keep out only the honest.
—Yiddish Proverb
The contagion of crime is like that of the plague.—Criminals collected together corrupt each other.—They are worse than ever when, at the termination of their punishment, they return to society.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Save a thief from the gallows and he will cut your throat.
—Common Proverb
Crime, like disease, is not interesting; it is something to be done away with by general consent, and that is all about it.
—Anonymous
Crime butchers innocence to secure a throne, and innocence struggles with all its might against the attempts of crime.
—Maximilien Robespierre (1758–94) French Revolutionary
A thief believes everybody steals.
—E. W. Howe (1853–1937) American Novelist, Editor
We cannot be sure that we ought not to regard the most criminal country as that which in some aspects possesses the highest civilization.
—Havelock Ellis (1859–1939) British Essayist, Physician
If crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight?
—George Carlin (1937–2008) American Stand-Up Comedian
If you share your friend’s crime, you make it your own.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
In the old days villains had moustaches and kicked the dog. Audiences are smarter today. They don’t want their villain to be thrown at them with green limelight on his face. They want an ordinary human being with failings.
—Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) British-born American Film Director, Film Producer
Crime and punishment grow out of one stem. Punishment is a fruit that, unsuspected, ripens with the flower of the pleasure that concealed it.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
One crime has to be concealed by another.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
Don’t steal. The government hates competition.
—Anonymous
Crime is naught but misdirected energy.
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940) Lithuanian-American Anarchist, Feminist
As there is a use in medicine for poisons, so the world cannot move without rogues.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Locks keep out only the honest.
—Hebrew Proverb
Those who are themselves incapable of great crimes, are ever backward to suspect others.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
Heaven will permit no man to secure happiness by crime.
—Vittorio Alfieri (1749–1803) Italian Poet, Dramatist
We easily forget our faults when they are known only to ourselves.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
What’s breaking into a bank compared with founding a bank?
—Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German Poet, Playwright, Theater Personality
When it comes to the point, really bad men are just as rare as really good ones.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
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