Source: The Courtship of Princess Leia
“Evil, when we are in its power, is not felt as evil, but as a necessity, even a duty.”
Last update March 25, 2023.
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Simone Weil 193
French philosopher, Christian mystic, and social activist 1909–1943Related quotes
“There is no inspiration in evil and no power except for its own destruction.”
Eugene V. Debs
(1855–1926) American labor and political leader
The Secret of Efficient Expression (1911)
54
The Zürau Aphorisms (1917 - 1918)
Context: There is nothing besides a spiritual world; what we call the world of the senses is the Evil in the spiritual world, and what we call Evil is only the necessity of a moment in our eternal evolution.
One can disintegrate the world by means of very strong light. For weak eyes the world becomes solid, for still weaker eyes it seems to develop fists, for eyes weaker still it becomes shamefaced and smashes anyone who dares to gaze upon it.
“When you start with a necessary evil, and then over time the necessity passes away, what's left?”
Matthew Scully
(1959) American political writer and speechwriter
Source: Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy
“It is not the misuse of power that is evil; the very existence of power is an evil.”
Source: The Greening of America (1970), Chapter V : Anatomy Of The Corporate State, p. 125
“It is important to appreciate beauty, even when it is evil.”
Source: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (2010), Chapter 7 (p. 75)
“Evil, however powerful it seemed, could be undone by its own appetite.”
Source: The Thief of Always
Source: The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
Francis Scott Key
(1779–1843) American lawyer and poet
Speech before the Colonization Society https://books.google.com/books?id=AoS2cqFQCSoC&pg=PA50
Mahatma Gandhi
(1869–1948) pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism during British-ruled India
Non-Violent Resistance - Often misquoted as "You assist an evil system most effectively by obeying its orders and decrees. An evil system never deserves such allegiance."
Posthumous publications (1950s and later)
Context: You assist an unjust administration most effectively by obeying its orders and decrees. An evil administration never deserves such allegiance. Allegiance to it means partaking of the evil.
A good person will resist an evil system with his whole soul. Disobedience of the laws of an evil state is therefore a duty.