“Of two evils, the less is always to be chosen.”
Book III. ch. 12.
The Imitation of Christ (c. 1418)
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Thomas à Kempis41
German canon regular 1380–1471Related quotes
“When choosing the lesser of two evils, always remember, it is still an evil.”
Max Lerner (1902–1992) American journalist and educator
“Is it better for a man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed upon him?”
Anthony Burgess book A Clockwork Orange
Source: A Clockwork Orange
“Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.”
Jerry Garcia (1942–1995) American musician and member of the Grateful Dead
James H. Cone (1938–2018) American theologian
Source: Black Theology and Black Power (1969), p. 143
“The choice before human beings, is not, as a rule, between good and evil but between two evils.”
George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist
"No, Not One," The Adelphi (October 1941), p. 7 http://books.google.com/books?id=hdwYAQAAIAAJ&q=%22The+choice+before+human+beings%22&pg=PA7#v=onepage- 8 http://books.google.com/books?id=hdwYAQAAIAAJ&q=%22is+not+as+a+rule+between+good+and+evil+but+between+two+evils%22&pg=PA8#v=onepage <br class="br">Context: The choice before human beings, is not, as a rule, between good and evil but between two evils. You can let the Nazis rule the world: that is evil; or you can overthrow them by war, which is also evil. There is no other choice before you, and whichever you choose you will not come out with clean hands.
“Politics: the art of convincing decent people to forget the lesser of two evils is also evil.”
Edward Snowden (1983) American whistleblower and former National Security Agency contractor
Twitter June 11, 2016 https://twitter.com/snowden/status/741584993009438720?lang=en
“The lesser of two evils is not the greater good.”
Ron English (1959) American artist
Ron English's Fauxlosophy (2016)