Who said “Every neurosis is a primitive form of legal proceeding in which the accused carries on…”?

Verified

Lionel Trilling. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceNotebook entry (1946), published in Partisan Review: 50th Anniversary Edition, ed. William Philips (1985)

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“Every neurosis is a primitive form of legal proceeding in which the accused carries on the prosecution, imposes judgment and executes the sentence: all to the end that someone else should not perform the same process.”
— Lionel Trilling
VerifiedNotebook entry (1946), published in Partisan Review: 50th Anniversary Edition, ed. William Philips (1985) · evidenceNeurosis

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Notebook entry (1946), published in Partisan Review: 50th Anniversary Edition, ed. William Philips (1985).

APA

Trilling, L. (n.d.). Every neurosis is a primitive form of legal proceeding in which the accused carries on the prosecution, imposes judgment and executes the sentence: all to the end that someone else should not perform the same process. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/31204-every-neurosis-is-a-primitive-form-of-legal/

MLA

Trilling, Lionel. “Every neurosis is a primitive form of legal proceeding in which the accused carries on the prosecution, imposes judgment and executes the sentence: all to the end that someone else should not perform the same process.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/31204-every-neurosis-is-a-primitive-form-of-legal/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Trilling, Lionel. “Every neurosis is a primitive form of legal proceeding in which the accused carries on the prosecution, imposes judgment and executes the sentence: all to the end that someone else should not perform the same process.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/31204-every-neurosis-is-a-primitive-form-of-legal/.

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More quotes by Lionel Trilling

“We are at heart so profoundly anarchistic that the only form of state we can imagine living in is Utopian; and so cynical that the only Utopia we can believe in is authoritarian.”
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“Immature artists imitate. Mature artists steal.”
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“The immature artist imitates. The mature artist steals.”
Plagiarism
“Where misunderstanding serves others as an advantage, one is helpless to make oneself understood.”
Obscurity
“Being a Jew is like walking in the wind or swimming: you are touched at all points and conscious everywhere.”
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“We who are liberal and progressive know that the poor are our equals in every sense except that of being equal to us.”
Liberals
All 15 Lionel Trilling quotes →