“There is no explanation for evil. It must be looked upon as a necessary part of the order of the universe. To ignore it is childish, to bewail it senseless.”

— W. Somerset Maugham , book The Summing Up

Source: The Summing Up (1938), p. 285

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Feb. 8, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "There is no explanation for evil. It must be looked upon as a necessary part of the order of the universe. To ignore it…" by W. Somerset Maugham?

W. Somerset Maugham 158

British playwright, novelist, short story writer 1874–1965

Related quotes

“The judge also must behave like a little child, in order to make sense out of a senseless case.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.”

Robert Wilson Lynd (1879–1949) Irish writer

Solomon in All His Glory https://archive.org/details/solomoninallhisg00lynd (1922), pp. 12-13.
Context: In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence. One has to sit still like a mystic and wait. One soon learns that fussing, instead of achieving things, merely prevents things from happening. To be passive is in some circumstances the most efficient form of activity. You cannot command events: you can only put yourself in the place where events will happen to you. No impatient man has ever seen Nature.

“I would… earnestly advise them for their good to order this paper to be punctually served up, and to be looked upon as a part of the tea equipage.”

Joseph Addison (1672–1719) politician, writer and playwright

No. 10 (11 March 1711).
The Spectator (1711–1714)

“I believe in the supreme excellence of righteousness; I believe that the law of righteousness will triumph in the universe over all evil; I believe that in the attempt to fulfil the law of righteousness, however imperfect it must remain, are to be found the inspiration, the consolation, and the sanctification of human existence.
We live in order to finish an, as yet, unfinished universe, unfinished so far as the human, that is, the highest part of it, is concerned. We live in order to develop the superior qualities of man which are, as yet, for the most part latent.”

Felix Adler (1851–1933) German American professor of political and social ethics, rationalist, and lecturer

Section 9 : Ethical Outlook
Life and Destiny (1913)

“Various classes of doctors and healers somewhat to look down upon each other and ignore respective merit. This habit must be superseded, of course, by co-operation, correlation and the growing understanding of the part that various types of healing play in their relation to one another...”

Vera Stanley Alder (1898–1984) British artist

Source: Humanity Comes of Age, A study of Individual and World Fulfillment (1950), Chapter XXXV The Opportunity Today

“In order to enjoy the inestimable benefits that the liberty of the press ensures, it is necessary to submit to the inevitable evils it creates”

Alexis De Tocqueville book Democracy in America

Pour recueillir les biens inestimables qu'assure la liberté de la presse, il faut savoir se soumettre aux maux inévitables qu'elle fait naître.
Source: Democracy in America, Volume I (1835), Chapter X-XIV, Chapter XI.

“Indeed some degree of affectation is as necessary to the mind as dress is to the body; we must overact our part in some measure, in order to produce any effect at all.”

William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English writer

" On Cant and Hypocrisy http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Essays/Hazlitt/CantHypocrisy.htm", London Weekly Review, (6 December 1828)
Men and Manners: Sketches and Essays (1852)