Between two evils, choose neither; between two goods, choose both.

––Tyron Edwards

Evil enters like a needle and spreads like an oak tree.

––Ethiopian Proverb

Evil is not something superhuman, it’s something less than human.

––Agatha Christie

The first idea that the child must acquire in order to be actively disciplined is that of the difference between good and evil; and the task of the educator lies in seeing that the child does not confound good with immobility, and evil with activity.

––Maria Montessori

If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?

––Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Whatever goal man has reached is due to his originality plus his brutality.

––Adolf Hitler

A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.

 ––Joseph Stalin

At least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity, idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols.

––Aldous Huxley

Battle not with monsters lest ye become a monster and if you gaze into the abyss the abyss gazes into you.

––Friedrich Nietzsche

He who does not punish evil commands it to be done.

––Leonardo da Vinci

Goodness alone is never enough. A hard cold wisdom is required, too, for goodness to accomplish good. Goodness without wisdom invariably accomplishes evil.

––Robert Heinlein

Just a little case of mood poisoning... Must be something I hate.

––David Warner

 

(Each week this column features quotations gleaned from the readings and experiences of our editors, reporters, readers, and friends. All are invited to submit quotations for inclusion here. They may be sent to Gleanings, c/o The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT 06470 or emailed to editor@thebee.com.)