C

May 11th

GUILT   IS  WORSE   THAN    JAIL

“The    greatest    portion of  peace   of  mind    is  doing   nothing wrong.  Those   who lack    self-control    live

disoriented and disturbed   lives.”

—SENECA,    MORAL   LETTERS,    105.7

onsider the fugitives who willingly turn themselves in after years on the run. Why would they do
that? They were free, one step ahead of the law, but they gave up! Because the guilt and the stress of
the fugitive life eventually gets worse than the prospect of lost freedom—in fact, it was its own kind of
prison.
It’s the same reason why, as a child, you might have confessed to a lie to completely unsuspecting
parents. It’s the reason why one partner might voluntarily admit to a crushing infidelity—even though the
other partner had no idea. “Why are you telling me this?!” the betrayed shouts as she walks out the door.
“Because things have been going so well and I couldn’t take it anymore!”
There are immense costs of doing wrong, not only to society, but to the perpetrator. Look at the lives
of most people who reject ethics and discipline, and the chaos and misery that so often follows. This
punishment is almost always as bad or worse than whatever society metes out.
This is why so many petty criminals confess or voluntarily surrender. They don’t always stick to it, but
at the lowest moment, they finally realize: this is no way to live. They want the peace of mind that comes
with doing right. And so do you.