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The best men are not consistent in good—why should the worst men be consistent in evil?
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“The best men are not consistent in good—why should the worst men be consistent in evil?”

Wilkie Collins

Source
The Woman in White
Date
1860
Meaning

Meaning of “The best men are not consistent in good—why…”

Walter Hartright rejects a simple moral picture in which people behave with perfect consistency, allowing that even deeply flawed characters can act in mixed or unexpected ways.

Source context

Where does it come from?

The Woman in White, Third Epoch, ‘The Story Continued by Walter Hartright,’ section II, Project Gutenberg #583. Walter tells Marian ‘The best men are not consistent in good—why should the worst men be consistent in evil?’ while they assess Count Fosco after Marian reports his warning. It remains fictional moral reasoning about a particular antagonist rather than an empirical rule about human behavior.

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Time makes more converts than reason.
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“Time makes more converts than reason.”

Thomas Paine · Common Sense · 1776
Meaning & context

Ideas that initially provoke resistance can become easier to accept as experience changes what people consider normal or possible.

Source details

Common Sense (1776), Introduction. The represented wording is verified in Project Gutenberg #147 and the validated scan-backed Wikisource 1776 sixth-edition transcription; Paine follows his warning that custom can make an error look right by observing that time often changes opinion where argument initially does not.

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It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.
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“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.”

Arthur Conan Doyle · A Scandal in Bohemia · 1891
Meaning & context

Holmes argues that explanations should follow evidence because an early theory can tempt a person to force later facts into a preferred story.

Source details

“A Scandal in Bohemia,” The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1891), Project Gutenberg #1661. Holmes immediately warns that premature theorizing leads people to twist facts to suit theories; it is fictional detective dialogue.

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Humility should not be an abasement; for it is never a virtue in man to lower himself.
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“Humility should not be an abasement; for it is never a virtue in man to lower himself.”

Paul Janet · Elements of Morals · 1884 English translation
Meaning & context

Janet sharply separates humility from self-degradation: accurate awareness of human weakness should coexist with dignity, so humility does not require pretending that one has no worth or abilities.

Source details

Elements of Morals, Chapter XIV, section 165, printed page 296, Caroline Rollin Corson’s 1884 English translation, Project Gutenberg #37016. Janet distinguishes humility from abasement: humility arises from recognition of human weakness, but lowering oneself is not itself a virtue. The passage belongs to nineteenth-century systematic moral philosophy rather than modern clinical self-esteem guidance.

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Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way.
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“Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way.”

Jane Austen · Emma · 1815
Voice: Fictional character · Emma Woodhouse
Meaning & context

Austen’s ironic narration shows how confidence and a favorable opinion of someone can make observers excuse behavior they would otherwise call foolish.

Source details

Emma, Volume II, Chapter VIII, scan-backed 1816 John Murray first edition on Wikisource. After Frank Churchill returns from an impulsive haircut, Emma “moralised to herself” that silly things can cease to seem silly when sensible people do them impudently. This is Emma Woodhouse’s ironic private judgment inside the novel, not Austen endorsing impudence as a general rule.

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A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
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“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”

Thomas Paine · Common Sense · 1776
Meaning & context

Custom can disguise error by making the familiar feel legitimate; critical judgment requires re-examining practices that have escaped scrutiny through repetition.

Source details

Common Sense (1776), Introduction. The represented opening sentence is verified in Project Gutenberg #147 and the validated scan-backed Wikisource transcription; Paine argues that familiarity can make a wrong practice appear right before public argument unsettles the custom.

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To define is to limit.
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“To define is to limit.”

Oscar Wilde · The Picture of Dorian Gray — 1891 edition · 1891
Voice: Fictional character · Lord Henry Wotton
Meaning & context

Definitions clarify ideas but can also narrow them, especially when a label is treated as the complete reality of a person or experience.

Source details

The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891 edition, Chapter 17; Lord Henry answers the Duchess of Monmouth’s question “What are you?” with “To define is to limit.”