Let us face squarely the paradox that the world which goes to war is a world, usually genuinely desiring peace. War is the outcome, not mainly of evil intentions, but on the whole of good intentions which miscarry or are frustrated. It is made not usually by evil men knowing themselves to be wrong, but is the outcome of policies pursued by good men usually passionately convinced that they are right.
-- Norman Angell

Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart, for his purity, by definition, is unassailable.
-- James Baldwin

When good people in any country cease their vigilance and struggle, then evil men prevail.
-- Pearl S. Buck

Race prejudice is not only a shadow over the colored it is a shadow over all of us, and the shadow is darkest over those who feel it least and allow its evil effects to go on.
-- Pearl S. Buck

War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.
-- Jimmy Carter

* The exploitation of women, mass hunger, disregard for freedom of conscience and for freedom of speech, widespread and racial discrimination -- all these evils are far too prevalent to be overlooked.
-- René Samuel Cassin

"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

"This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his future. I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals."
-- Albert Einstein

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."
-- Mohandas K. Gandhi

Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good.
-- Mohandas K. Gandhi

Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed.
-- Mohandas K. Gandhi

* "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... Today we know that survivors of torture can be helped to regain their health and strength, and in helping them we take the weapon from their torturers. They sought the destruction of other human beings. We have proved that they have not succeeded."
-- Inge Genefke

I believe that ignorance is the root of all evil. And that no one knows the truth.
-- Molly Ivins

Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.
~ Thomas Jefferson

By a declaration of rights, I mean one which shall stipulate freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of commerce against monopolies, trial by juries in all cases, no suspensions of the habeas corpus, no standing armies. These are fetters against doing evil which no honest government should decline.
-- Thomas Jefferson

Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all -- the apathy of human beings.
-- Helen Keller

* I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil.
-- Robert F. Kennedy

What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists, is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.
-- Robert F. Kennedy

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

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.
-- Martin Luther King, Jr

“I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr

That is the America which stands not in pursuit of an axis of evil, but which is itself at the axis of hope and faith and peace and freedom.
-- Dennis Kucinich

The dread of evil is a much more forcible principle of human actions than the prospect of good.
-- John Locke

* Massive poverty and obscene inequality are such terrible scourges of our times -- times in which the world boasts breathtaking advances in science, technology, industry and wealth accumulation -- that they have to rank alongside slavery and apartheid as social evils.
-- Nelson Mandela

“Conquer the devils with a little thing called love!”
-- Bob Marley

* It may be necessary temporarily to accept a lesser evil, but one must never label a necessary evil as good.
-- Margaret Mead

A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.
-- John Stuart Mill

The task of the educator lies in seeing that the child does not confound good with immobility and evil with activity.
-– Maria Montessori

* The survival of democracy depends on the renunciation of violence and the development of nonviolent means to combat evil and advance the good.
-- A. J. Muste

* The whole course of human history may depend on a change of heart in one solitary and even humble individual - for it is in the solitary mind and soul of the individual that the battle between good and evil is waged and ultimately won or lost.
-- M. Scott Peck

I do not believe in a simplistic and inflammatory view of good and evil. I believe this is a big world full of men, women, and children who struggle to eat, to love, to work, to protect their families, their beliefs, and their dreams.
-- Sean Penn

A good End cannot sanctify evil Means; nor must we ever do Evil, that Good may come of it.
-- William Penn

* "The greatest of evils and the worst of crimes is poverty."
-- George Bernard Shaw

* If it were easier to choose to do the right thing, wouldn't people be more likely to do it?
-- Robert Alan Silverstein

Maybe peace on earth is an impossible dream, but if we changed the rules, this world could be so much better. -- Robert Alan Silverstein

Those who corrupt the public mind are just as evil as those who steal from the public purse.
-- Adlai Stevenson

* We don't need bombs and guns to destroy, to bring peace - just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that strength of presence of each other in the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world.
-- Mother Teresa

It is best to avoid the beginnings of evil.
-- Henry David Thoreau

There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
-- Henry David Thoreau

The lack of money is the root of all evil.
-- Mark Twain

* "Nonviolence is the answer for the questions of our time. Love will conquer evil every time."
-- James Twyman

Evil, when we are in its power, is not felt as evil, but as a necessity, even a duty.
-- Simone Weil

No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.
-- Mary Wollstonecraft