Any mind that is capable of real sorrow is capable of good.

Stowe’s line links moral capacity to emotional depth: the ability to feel “real sorrow” implies empathy, conscience, and an awareness of harm—qualities that underwrite ethical action. Rather than treating sorrow as weakness, the quote reframes it as evidence of a responsive, humane mind that can recognize suffering in oneself and others. In this view, moral goodness is not merely adherence to rules but a cultivated sensitivity that makes cruelty harder to sustain. The statement also suggests a redemptive psychology: even when someone is pained by regret or grief, that very pain can be a sign of latent virtue and a starting point for compassion and reform.