“The idea of the thing was attacked by good and bad men, in good faith and bad.”
Source: Fourth Mansions (1969), Ch. 4
Context: "There was a later time when sincere men tried to build an organization as wide as the world to secure the peace of the world. It had been tried before and it had failed before. Perhaps if it failed this time it would not be tried again for a very long while. The idea of the thing was attacked by good and bad men, in good faith and bad. The final realization of it was so close that it could be touched with the fingertips. A gambler wouldn't have given odds on it either way. It teetered, and it almost seemed as though it would succeed. Then members of that group interfered."
"And it failed, O'Claire?"
"No. It succeeded, Foley, as in the other case. It succeeded in so twisted a fashion that the Devil himself was puzzled as to whether he had gained or lost ground by it. And he isn't easily puzzled."
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R. A. Lafferty 109
American writer 1914–2002Related quotes
Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, “Unlimited Government” (Dec. 29, 1961).
“If goodness can't come from bad things, it makes bad things unbearable.”
Source: Love Is the Higher Law
Žádné pocínání není samo o sobe dohré ani zlé. Teprve jeho místo v rádu ciní je dobrým ci zlým.
The Joke (1967)
“It is much easier to make good men wise, than to make bad men good.”
Source: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
“There is no such thing as a good writer and a bad liar.”
Source: A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You
“The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas, and throw the bad ones away.”
Variant: The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.