"We may not commit a lesser Sin under pretence to avoid a greater, but we may, nay we ought to endure the greatest Pain and Grief rather than commit the least Sin"
About this Quote
Astell isn’t offering a cozy maxim about “doing the right thing.” She’s drawing a hard, almost surgical line between moral integrity and the seductive logic of exception-making. The phrasing matters: “may not,” “nay we ought” turns the sentence into a courtroom correction, as if she’s interrupting a familiar excuse mid-flight. Pain and grief can be survived; sin, in her frame, is a corruption of the self that lingers. That hierarchy is the engine of the quote.
The subtext is aimed at a culture that routinely asked women to barter conscience for security. In late 17th- and early 18th-century England, women’s options were constrained by marriage markets, legal dependence, and religious expectations. “A lesser sin to avoid a greater” sounds like the kind of counsel offered to keep the peace: tolerate a bad marriage, flatter a patron, accept a convenient falsehood, submit to a compromise that saves reputation or household. Astell rejects that utilitarian morality. She insists that moral agency isn’t suspended by circumstance; if anything, pressure is the proof of it.
There’s also an early feminist edge hiding in the theology. By demanding the same rigorous conscience expected of men, Astell implicitly grants women a fully serious interior life - one not defined by compliance or damage control. The austerity is strategic: when you have limited external power, the one domain you can defend absolutely is the integrity of your will. The quote works because it refuses to negotiate with fear, even when fear is practical, even when fear is socially mandated.
The subtext is aimed at a culture that routinely asked women to barter conscience for security. In late 17th- and early 18th-century England, women’s options were constrained by marriage markets, legal dependence, and religious expectations. “A lesser sin to avoid a greater” sounds like the kind of counsel offered to keep the peace: tolerate a bad marriage, flatter a patron, accept a convenient falsehood, submit to a compromise that saves reputation or household. Astell rejects that utilitarian morality. She insists that moral agency isn’t suspended by circumstance; if anything, pressure is the proof of it.
There’s also an early feminist edge hiding in the theology. By demanding the same rigorous conscience expected of men, Astell implicitly grants women a fully serious interior life - one not defined by compliance or damage control. The austerity is strategic: when you have limited external power, the one domain you can defend absolutely is the integrity of your will. The quote works because it refuses to negotiate with fear, even when fear is practical, even when fear is socially mandated.
Quote Details
| Topic | Ethics & Morality |
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