He said after a little while, 'I see why you say that only men do evil, I think. Even sharks are innocent, they kill because they must.'
'That is why nothing can resist us. Only one thing in the worl can resist an evil-hearted man. And that is another man. In our shame is our glory. Only our spirit, which is capable of evil, is capable of overcoming it.

The only thing for evil to triumph in the world is for good men not to act.

Alvin wondered if it was true—if all men had evil in their hearts, and those men as were good, maybe they were simply the ones who controlled theirselves so well they could act contrary to their heart's desire. But if that were so, then no man was good, not one.

"When you have made evil the means of survival, do not expect men to remain good. Do not expect them to stay moral and lose their lives for the purpose of becoming the fodder of the immoral. Do not expect them to produce, when production is punished and looting rewarded. Do not ask, "Who is destroying the world?" You are."

Evil conquered?' said Gwydion. 'You have learned much, but learn this last and hardest of lessons. You have conquered only the enchantments of evil. That was the easiest of your tasks, only a beginning, not an ending. Do you believe evil itself to be so quickly overcome? Not so long as men still hate and slay each other, when greed and anger goad them. Against these even a flaming sword cannot prevail, but only that portion of good in all men's hearts whose flame can never be quenched.

There's terrible evil in the world. It comes from men. All other elil do what they have to do and Frith moves them as he moves us. They live on the earth and they need food. Men will never rest till they've spoiled the earth and destroyed the animals.

One is almost driven to the cynical conclusion that men are only decent when they are powerless.

One of my wise teachers, Dr. William F. Orr, told me, “There is only one thing evil cannot stand and that is forgiveness.

One can fight evil but against stupidity one is helpless.

Evil men could be destroyed, but nothing could be done with good men who were deluded.

I never found a way to tell a good man from an evil one except by what he did. It's popular now to say all men are good and evil both. But I don't believe that. Men are on one side or the other. Of course, sometimes a good man will do an evil thing. But he regrets it. And so will you, whenever you do wrong. And if you do wrong too often, regrets come so easily that you forget what wrong is. Then you've become an evil man, and you're all tied up inside, and you work and fight against others. And do you know why? Because you have no peace in your heart to satisfy you when you are alone.

There were some things that only time could cure. Evil men could be destroyed, but nothing could be done with good men who were deluded.

"People . . . don't . . . seem . . . to realise," he said, "what Evil is. They don't . . . seem . . . to realise how far it goes down! It has holes . . . that go down . . . beyond the mind . . . beyond the reason ... . beyond all we can think of! Something comes up from these holes that gives you power when you're in certain . . . in certain moods . . . and it's then that you feel things . . . and . . . Do Things" — his voice rose here to such a pitch that the girl started up and made a movement of her hand towards him — "which nothing in Nature can forgive!"

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men.