“Active Evil is better than Passive Good.”
1780s, Annotations to Lavater (1788)
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William Blake249
English Romantic poet and artist 1757–1827Related quotes
Malcolm Azania book The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad
Source: The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad (2004), Chapter 56 “At Last, the Box, Explained” (p. 320)
“God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.”
Aurelius Augustinus book Enchiridion of Augustine
Enchiridion (c. 420 ), Ch. 27
“You must not grieve so heavily.
Better are good than evil omens.”
Taliesin (534–599) Welsh bard
The Tale of Taleisin
Context: You must not grieve so heavily.
Better are good than evil omens.
though I am weak and small,
Spumed with Dylan's wave,
I shall be better for you
Than three hundred shares of salmon.
Margery Allingham (1904–1966) English writer of detective fiction
The Oaken Heart
“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
Robert Baden-Powell (1857–1941) lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, founder and Chief Scout of the Scout Movement
How to be happy though rich or poor (1930)
“Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity.”
Xun Zi (-313–-238 BC) Ancient Chinese philosopher
Quoted in: Fayek S. Hourani (2012) Daily Bread for Your Mind and Soul, p. 336.
“The student is to read history actively not passively.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Source: Self-Reliance and Other Essays