“Certain things acquired an evil complexion if phrased , but remained harmless in the mind”

— R. K. Narayan

The Vendor Of Sweets (1967)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Certain things acquired an evil complexion if phrased , but remained harmless in the mind" by R. K. Narayan?

R. K. Narayan 10

writer of Indian English literature 1906–2001

Related quotes

“The so-called evils are evils only in relation to a certain thing, and that which is evil in relation to a certain existing thing, either includes the non-existence of that thing or the non-existence of some of its good conditions.”

Maimónides book The Guide for the Perplexed

Source: Guide for the Perplexed (c. 1190), Part III, Ch.10

“Know that for the human mind there are certain objects of perception which are within the scope of its nature and capacity; on the other hand, there are, amongst things which actually exist, certain objects which the mind can in no way and by no means grasp: the gates of perception are closed against it. Further, there are things of which the mind understands one part, but remains ignorant of the other; and when man is able to comprehend certain things, it does not follow that he must be able to comprehend everything.”

Maimónides book The Guide for the Perplexed

Source: Guide for the Perplexed (c. 1190), Part I, p.106 (1881) Tr. Friedlander

“I used to suppose that certain evils could never befall a being in possession of a sound mind”

Charles Brockden Brown (1771–1810) American novelist, historian and editor

Wieland; or, the Transformation (1798)
Context: I used to suppose that certain evils could never befall a being in possession of a sound mind; that true virtue supplies us with energy which vice can never resist; that it was always in our power to obstruct, by his own death, the designs of an enemy who aimed at less than our lives.

“Poison cures in certain contingencies, and in those cases poison is not an evil thing.”

Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac (1597–1654) French author, best known for his epistolary essays

Le venin guerit en quelque rencontre, et, ce cas-là, le venin n'est pas mauvais.
Aristippe, ou De la cour (1658), Discours VI.
Translation reported in Harbottle's Dictionary of quotations French and Italian (1904), p. 139.

“In a certain state of mind, all trace of feeling is banished. Whenever I remain silent in a certain way, I don't love you, have you noticed that?”

Marguerite Duras book The Ravishing of Lol Stein

Source: The Ravishing of Lol Stein

“Compassion is probably the only antitoxin of the soul. Where there is compassion even the most poisonous impulses remain relatively harmless.”

Eric Hoffer (1898–1983) American philosopher

Section 139
The Passionate State Of Mind, and Other Aphorisms (1955)
Context: Compassion is probably the only antitoxin of the soul. Where there is compassion even the most poisonous impulses remain relatively harmless. One would rather see the world run by men who set their hearts on toys but are accessible to pity, than by men animated by lofty ideals whose dedication makes them ruthless. In the chemistry of man's soul, almost all noble attributes — courage, honor, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, etc. — can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.

“Learning acquired in youth arrests the evil of old age”

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XIX Philosophical Maxims. Morals. Polemics and Speculations.
Context: Learning acquired in youth arrests the evil of old age; and if you understand that old age has wisdom for its food, you will so conduct yourself in youth that your old age will not lack for nourishment.