50 Evil Quotes For Defining Right And Wrong

By Clifton Sankofa | Published July 24, 2023

If you are looking for evil quotes, we have got you covered!

If you look up the word evil in a dictionary, it is defined as something profoundly immoral or wicked.

Yet, this definition is tricky because it seems like it is made from a place of judgment.

What is evil?

We need a definition we can build on for us to discuss evil.

A stick on its own is not an evil thing.

However, murdering an innocent person with a stick can be considered evil.

Many would say evil is the opposite of good; it is an issue of morality and intention.

Check out these astonishing facts about evil below:

Morality and evil vary across cultures.
The study of good and evil in philosophy is called ethics.
Many scientists believe evolution gave us morality as a default setting.

How do philosophy and theology view evil?

In theology, or the study of the nature of god, many people question the existence of evil.

For example, arguments about evil and good and their place in our lives have been raging since the beginning.

People ask questions such as “If there is God, why does evil exist?”

Some theologists believe that the existence of evil proves there is no God.

Others argue that God exists and allows evil to exist to give people free will to choose good or evil.

Philosophy studies general and fundamental questions about reason, knowledge, values, mind, language, and existence.

The same good versus evil debate has existed in philosophy as well.

Philosophers refer to this study as ethics.

Ethics tries to explain why some actions are viewed as evil while others are good.

Anne Rice is one of the most successful authors of our modern time.

Her work ranges from gothic fiction to Christian and erotic literature.

When asked to define evil, Rice noted, “Evil is just a point of view.”

What is considered evil in one culture may be regarded as divine justice in another.

What is the Scale of Evil?

The scale of evil is a list of gradations of evil created by Columbia University professor Michael Stone.

Stone is a forensic psychologist who analyzes the mental state of accused murderers.

His work is important because his analysis can mean the difference between life and death for an accused murderer on trial.

The evil scale is divided into three tiers:

People who are impulsive evil-doers.
People lacking psychopathic features.
People who are profoundly psychotic.

According to Stone, there are significant differences between the motives of people who commit evil.

He says that impulsive evil-doers are driven to evil in a single act of rage or jealousy.

Their acts are not thought out and planned.

People who lack psychopathic features may still be psychotic.

They can still be clinically delusional or out of touch with reality and be driven to evil.

Lastly, profoundly psychopathic people possess cunning and manipulativeness with no remorse for their actions.

If you want more cool content check out our evil quotes below.

Short evil quotes defining good and evil

These quotes use few words to capture the meaning of evil.

1. “Evil then results from imperfection.” — Philip James Bailey

2. “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.” — William Shakespeare

3. “They, who know no evil, will suspect none.” — Ben Jonson

4. “All evils are equal when they are extreme.” — Pierre Corneille

5. “To ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

6. “We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.” — Oscar Wilde

7. “I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil.” — Robert Kennedy

8. “There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.” — Gautama Buddha

9. “There is some good in the worst of us, and some evil in the best of us.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

10. “It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak.” — Eric Hoffer

The top evil quotes and observations about life

Anne Rice famously said, “Evil is just a point of view.”

These quotes remind us that evil is a perspective.

11. “Evil is just a point of view.” — Anne Rice

12. “Active Evil is better than Passive Good.” — William Blake

13. “Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid.” — Ronald Reagan

14. “Every sweet has its sour; every evil it’s good.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

15. “Where there is no respect for life, there you will find evil.” — O.R. Melling

16. “True courage is to stand against evil, even when we stand alone.” — Richard C. Edgley

17. “Evil can be a teacher if you look at the wisdom of its negative power.” — Tom Brown, Jr.

18. “Evil is something you recognize immediately you see it: it works through charm” — Brian Masters

19. “Believe me; all evil comes from the old. They grow fat on ideas, and young men die of them.” — Jean Anouilh

20. “If God listened to the prayers of men, all men would quickly have perished: for they are forever praying for evil against one another.” — Epicurus

The best evil quotes about revenge and judgment

People judge evil just as much as it is the energy that fuels revenge.

21. “Evil is whatever distracts.” — Franz Kafka

22. “Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.” — Mae West

23. “No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expedience.” — Theodore Roosevelt

24. “One who condones evils is just as guilty as the one who perpetrates it.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

25. “God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.” — Saint Augustine

26. “If evil be spoken of you, and it be true, correct yourself; if it be a lie, laugh at it.” — Epictetus

27. “Evil is the product of the ability of humans to make abstract that which is concrete.” — John Paul Sarte

28. “The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.” — Hannah Arendt

29. “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

30. “The man who promises everything is sure to fulfill nothing, and everyone who promises too much is in danger of using evil means in order to carry out his promises and is already on the road to perdition.” — Carl Jung

Evil quotes about power and control

Many people have pursued evil during their journey; these quotes highlight that choice.

31. “All concerns of men go wrong when they wish to cure evil with evil.” — Sophocles

32. “It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.” — Gautama Buddha

33. “False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.” — Plato

34. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” — Edmund Burke

35. “As long as people believe in absurdities, they will continue to commit atrocities.” — Voltaire

36. “Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky

37. “Now I know the full power of evil. It makes ugliness seem beautiful, and goodness seem ugly and weak.” — August Strindberg

38. “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” — Albert Einstein

39. “There is evil in every human heart, which may remain latent, perhaps, through the whole of life; but circumstances may rouse it to activity.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne

40. “When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Evil quotes about love and fear

Evil can drive love, and it can promote fear, and these quotes capture that idea.

41. “Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.” — Aristotle

42. “When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.” — Henny Youngman

43. “Hypocrisy, the lie, is the true sister of evil, intolerance, and cruelty.” — Raisa Gorbacheva

44. “It is extreme evil to depart from the company of the living before you die.” — Seneca the Younger

45. “The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it.” — Ayn Rand

46. “Understanding does not cure evil, but it is a definite help, inasmuch as one can cope with a comprehensible darkness.” — Carl Jung

47. “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” — Thomas Paine

48. “I think the devil doesn’t exist, but man has created him; he has created him in his own image and likeness.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky

49. “No evil dooms us hopelessly except the evil we love, and desire to continue in, and make no effort to escape from.” — George Eliot

50. “The aim of torture is to destroy a person as a human being, to destroy their identity and soul. It is more evil than murder.” — Inge Genefke

Good and evil are necessary polarities for balance

When we look around us and see war, famine, violence, pain, and the destruction of our planet, it is customary to wonder why these evils exist.

Aside from taking responsibility for our actions that result in these unfavorable conditions, it is essential to consider why evil exists.

At the most basic levels, we often have to experience what we do not prefer to know what we prefer.

We live in a world that requires balance.

Our seasons, moon phases, tides, and temperatures are all based on seasons; they ebb and flow.

One extreme exists, so the other may exist; Evil exists so that love may exist.

We are often provided with extreme examples of things so we do not have to experience them personally.

When we learn about the plight of another, it is natural for us to learn from their mistakes and avoid them.

Evil exists so that we can know what it is and make a choice to perpetuate or neutralize its energy.