“Lies are neither bad nor good. Like a fire they can either keep you warm or burn you to death, depending on how they're used.”

— Max Brooks , book World War Z

Source: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Lies are neither bad nor good. Like a fire they can either keep you warm or burn you to death, depending on how they're…" by Max Brooks?

Max Brooks 41

American author 1972

David Gemmell book Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf

Source: Drenai series, Waylander II: In the Realm of the Wolf, Ch. 1

“You are highly accountable. That's what I like about it. You are responsible for your investments and either they're good or they're bad ... There are nor many other people to blame, there's nowhere to hide.”

Rishi Sunak (1980) Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom

Said on the BBC's Political Thinking podcast. The Rishi Sunak One https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07qtbdx (11 October 2019). Quoted in the Guardian's Rishi Sunak: the bit-part hedge fund partner now managing the economy https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/mar/08/chancellor-rishi-sunak-the-bit-part-hedge-fund-partner-now-managing-the-whole-economy (8 March 2020)
2019

“Life itself is neither a good nor an evil: life is where good or evil find a place, depending on how you make it for them.”

Michel De Montaigne (1533–1592) (1533-1592) French-Occitan author, humanistic philosopher, statesman

Source: The Essays: A Selection

“Change is neither good nor bad, but knowledge is always useful.”

Christopher Paolini book Inheritance

Source: Inheritance (2011)

“The value of material things depends upon the part they play in the life of the spirit. In themselves they are neither good nor bad.”

Meher Baba book Discourses

Source: Discourses (1967), Vol. I, Ch. 15 : The Life of the Spirit
Context: The value of material things depends upon the part they play in the life of the spirit. In themselves they are neither good nor bad. They become good or bad according to whether they help or hinder the manifestation of Divinity through matter. Take for example the place of the physical body in the life of the spirit. It is a mistake to set up an antithesis between “flesh” and “spirit.” Such contrast almost inevitably ends in an unqualified condemnation of the body. The body obstructs spiritual fulfillment only if it is pampered as having claims in its own right. Its proper function is rightly understood as ancillary to spiritual purposes. The rider needs a horse if he is to fight a battle, though the horse can become an impediment if it refuses to be completely submissive to his will. In the same way the spirit needs to be clothed in matter if it is to come into full possession of its own possibilities, although the body can at times become a hindrance if it refuses to be compliant with the requirements of the spirit. If the body yields to the claims of the spirit as it should, it is instrumental in bringing down the kingdom of heaven on earth. It becomes a vehicle for the release of divine life, and when it subserves this purpose it might aptly be called the temple of God on earth.