A little sin is a big sin when committed by a big man.
Abraham Ibn Ezra (1092-1167) Spanish Jewish poet, philosopher, Biblical exegete [ר׳ אַבְרָהָם בֶּן מֵאִיר אִבְּן עֶזְרָא]
Sefer ha-Yashar (c. 1160)
Commentary on Genesis 32.9. Alternate translation:Therefore, a minor sin committed by a great personality is considered a major transgression.
[tr. Strickman and Silver (1988)]
Quotations about:
magnitude
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When all are guilty, no one is; confessions of collective guilt are the best possible safeguard against the discovery of culprits, and the very magnitude of the crime the best excuse for doing nothing.
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
“On Violence,” Crises of the Republic (1972)
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A successful career has been full of great blunders.
Charles Buxton (1823-1871) English brewer, philanthropist, writer, politician
Notes of Thought, #482 (1873)
(Source)
Every noble work is at first impossible. In very truth, for every noble work the possibilities will lie diffused through Immensity; inarticulate, undiscoverable except to faith.
Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Past and Present, Book 3, ch. 11 “Labour” (1843)
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