"One ought to look a good deal at oneself before thinking of condemning others"
About this Quote
A line like this lands because it weaponizes politeness. On the surface, Moliere offers a tidy piece of moral hygiene: check your own reflection before you start throwing stones. Underneath, it’s a stage-direction for social survival in a world where judgment is currency and reputation is fragile. The phrase “one ought” carries the velvet-glove authority of good manners, but it’s also a trap: it makes condemnation look gauche, the pastime of people insufficiently self-aware to notice their own absurdities.
Moliere’s theater is crowded with characters who police other people’s behavior to avoid confronting their own appetites, hypocrisies, and vanities. That’s the real target here: not “evil” so much as self-deception dressed up as virtue. “Look a good deal at oneself” implies more than a quick conscience-check; it suggests sustained scrutiny, the kind that reveals how easily moral certainty becomes performance. In Moliere’s comic universe, the harshest satire isn’t aimed at sinners but at those who curate their righteousness like a costume.
The context matters: 17th-century France, court culture, religious posturing, and strict social codes that rewarded public rectitude while tolerating private vice. Moliere, frequently attacked for his supposed impiety, learned to critique power without sounding like he was declaring war on it. This line plays defense and offense at once. It’s an ethical maxim that doubles as a comedic scalpel, exposing how condemnation often functions less as justice than as self-flattery.
Moliere’s theater is crowded with characters who police other people’s behavior to avoid confronting their own appetites, hypocrisies, and vanities. That’s the real target here: not “evil” so much as self-deception dressed up as virtue. “Look a good deal at oneself” implies more than a quick conscience-check; it suggests sustained scrutiny, the kind that reveals how easily moral certainty becomes performance. In Moliere’s comic universe, the harshest satire isn’t aimed at sinners but at those who curate their righteousness like a costume.
The context matters: 17th-century France, court culture, religious posturing, and strict social codes that rewarded public rectitude while tolerating private vice. Moliere, frequently attacked for his supposed impiety, learned to critique power without sounding like he was declaring war on it. This line plays defense and offense at once. It’s an ethical maxim that doubles as a comedic scalpel, exposing how condemnation often functions less as justice than as self-flattery.
Quote Details
| Topic | Humility |
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