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.