20. Would it be reprehensible to observe others’ imperfections when it does not result in a benefit for them, and when  one does not divulge them?

Everything depends on the intent. Of course, no one is forbidden from seeing evil where there is evil. Furthermore, it would be unsuitable to see only the good everywhere: such an illusion would be harmful to progress. The error is in making the observation to the detriment of one’s neighbor, unnecessarily discrediting him or her committing a public eye. It would also be reprehensible to make such an observation only to take pleasure in a sentiment of malice and for the satisfaction of catching others committing a wrong. The opposite applies, when, casting a veil over evil to hide it from the public, we limit ourselves to observing it for our own evolution, that is, to study it in order to avoid what we censure in others. Furthermore, is not this observation useful to the moralist? How could the moralist paint the defects of humankind without studying the models?

St. Louis (Paris, 1860)