Vice is nourished by being concealed.

Understand the thought

Meaning in plain English

Harmful conduct can continue more easily when hidden from appropriate scrutiny. The nourishment image suggests concealment sustaining a problem.

What the words are saying

Vice is pictured as feeding on secrecy. It can encourage attention to a practice that avoids accountability and repeatedly harms others. Not every private matter is wrongdoing, and disclosure should not be indiscriminate or unsafe. A useful reading asks what conduct needs scrutiny, who can respond fairly and how the people affected can be protected rather than turning privacy itself into a suspicion.

Everyday example

A group creates a safe way to report a recurring misuse of authority instead of letting secrecy shield it.

When to use it

Use it to examine concealment that prevents accountability for actual harm.

Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.