If you give to a thief he cannot steal from you, and he is then no longer a thief.

Saroyan’s line frames generosity as a practical and moral strategy for breaking cycles of deprivation and wrongdoing. By giving voluntarily, the giver removes the occasion for theft—what is offered cannot be “stolen”—and, more importantly, treats the would‑be thief as a person capable of change rather than as a fixed criminal type. The paradox suggests that “thief” is partly a social role created by scarcity, exclusion, and distrust; compassion can dissolve that role by restoring dignity and belonging. It also implies an ethic of radical empathy: meeting need directly may prevent harm more effectively than punishment, and can transform relationships from adversarial to human.