Graham Greene: Corrupt Sentiment
on Wednesday, October 2, 2019Graham Greene Money Quote saying those willing to sell themselves for money are more predictable than those that may be swayed by emotions. Graham Greene said:
“They had been corrupted by money, and he had been corrupted by sentiment. Sentiment was the more dangerous, because you couldn’t name its price. A man open to bribes was to be relied upon below a certain figure, but sentiment might uncoil in the heart at a name, a photograph, even a smell remembered” — Graham Greene
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Graham Greene is contrasting being corrupted by money versus being corrupted by sentiment or emotions. He says that while a person corrupted by money can be relied upon or influenced up to a certain price point when receiving a bribe, someone corrupted by sentiment is harder to predict. Sentiment does not have a fixed price, so you cannot know for sure what might trigger an emotional response in someone or cause their sentiments to “uncoil in the heart.”
Greene suggests that sentiment is a more dangerous form of corruption because emotions can be swayed in unexpected ways by small reminders or triggers like a name, photograph, or smell from the past in a way that is not straightforward like a monetary exchange. The quote implies sentiment makes a person’s actions and loyalty less reliable.