--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But there is this terrible thing in evil…" description: "\"“But there is this terrible thing in evil thoughts, that evil minds soon grow familiar with them.”\" — Alexandre Dumas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/alexandre-dumas-436_evil_but-there-is-this-terrible-thing-in-evil_2839856.jpg" --- # But there is this terrible thing in evil thoughts, that… ![“But there is this terrible thing in evil thoughts, that evil minds soon grow familiar with them.” quote by Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/alexandre-dumas-436_evil_but-there-is-this-terrible-thing-in-evil_2839856.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/alexandre-dumas-436_evil_but-there-is-this-terrible-thing-in-evil_2839856.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/alexandre-dumas-436_evil_but-there-is-this-terrible-thing-in-evil_2839856.jpg) > ““But there is this terrible thing in evil thoughts, that evil minds soon grow familiar with them.”” [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Evil thoughts become familiar, making harmful actions easier to commit. **In simple terms:** Familiarity with bad ideas lowers resistance. Key Takeaway Guard against normalizing negative thoughts. Themes morality psychology evil Mood cautious thoughtful Type philosophical advisory When to use this quote - personal reflection - mental health counseling Key Concepts cognitive habituation ethical decay Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when a harmful thought is becoming normalized? - What practices keep you vigilant against negative mental patterns? A Different Perspective Not all thoughts lead to action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-minds-2881321/) [Evil thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-thoughts/) [Familiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thing Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-evil-236129/) [Thoughts Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-evil-3717907/) ## Related quotes > [Evil thoughts and evil doing, cold, alone, you hang in ruins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/evil-thoughts-and-evil-doing-cold-alone-you-hang-in-ruins/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [“Evil thoughts, evil action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/evil-thoughts-evil-action/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“You think he's evil thoughts are more evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deniel-alraffly/you-think-he-s-evil-thoughts-are-more-evil/) [Deniel Alraffly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deniel-alraffly/) > [Evil minds that plot destruction, sorcerers of death's construction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-sabbath/evil-minds-that-plot-destruction-sorcerers-of-death-s-construction/) [Black Sabbath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-sabbath/) > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [I'd have to say, and I think that most Christians would hold the view, that there is such a thing as evil, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hollingworth/i-d-have-to-say-and-i-think-that-most-christians-would-hold-the-view/) [Peter Hollingworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hollingworth/) > [The world's oldest wisdom: each evil thought infuses the mind, sooner or later, with an unholy fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/the-world-s-oldest-wisdom-each-evil-thought-infuses-the-mind-sooner/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [Evil is not only By hurting other's stendind and watching reail bad happning in fornt of us and not doning any thing is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-cruz/evil-is-not-only-by-hurting-other-s-stendind-and-watching-reail-bad/) [Kevin D'cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-cruz/) > [“It's said on my world that the only thing evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing." - Will Bradshaw”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-daigle/it-s-said-on-my-world-that-the-only-thing-evil-needs-to-succeed-is/) [Arthur Daigle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-daigle/) > [“There's no such thing as evil for its own sake . All evil is motivated - even mine {Lucifer}.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/there-s-no-such-thing-as-evil-for-its-own-sake-all-evil-is-motivated/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“What's the one thing Evil can never have... and the one thing Good can never do without?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soman-chainani/what-s-the-one-thing-evil-can-never-have-and-the-one-thing-good-can/) [Soman Chainani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soman-chainani/) > [“And this is the only really startling thing about the evil of the world: not that so much of it exists, but that nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/and-this-is-the-only-really-startling-thing-about-the-evil-of-the/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [“That’s the thing about evil. You don’t need to be it to do it. It doesn’t have to consume all of you. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/that-s-the-thing-about-evil-you-don-t-need-to-be-it-to-do-it-it-doesn/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [“There is no such thing as evil in the world of science. There are only those who discover and are remembered, and those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-c-barrus/there-is-no-such-thing-as-evil-in-the-world-of-science-there-are-only/) [S.C. Barrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-c-barrus/) > [The only thing evil can’t stand is forgiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/the-only-thing-evil-can-t-stand-is-forgiveness/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) ## More by Alexandre Dumas > [“What is the sense in recriminations about things over which the will of God itself is powerless? God can change the future, He cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-is-the-sense-in-recriminations-about-things-over-which-the-will/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [There is no friendship that cares about an overheard secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/there-is-no-friendship-that-cares-about-an-overheard-secret/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [Darling, replied Valentine, has not the count just told us that all human wisdom was contained in these two words,- "Wait and hope"?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/darling-replied-valentine-has-not-the-count-just-told-us-that-all/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“when you have the honour to find yourself in the company of ordinary men and the good fortune to be out of politics for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/when-you-have-the-honour-to-find-yourself-in-the-company-of-ordinary/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“He rose in his turn, and seizing handfuls of confetti and sweetmeats, with which the carriage was filled, cast them with all the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/he-rose-in-his-turn-and-seizing-handfuls-of-confetti-and-sweetmeats/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“A man is always in a hurry to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/a-man-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-happy/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Speak on, madame, speak on, Queen," said Buckingham; "the sweetness of your voice covers the harshness of your words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/speak-on-madame-speak-on-queen-said-buckingham-the-sweetness-of-your/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“On the 24th of February, 1810, the look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, the Pharaon from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/on-the-24th-of-february-1810-the-look-out-at-notre-dame-de-la-garde/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“what despair to see a woman one loves longing for those thousand nothings from which women compose their happiness, and to be unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-despair-to-see-a-woman-one-loves-longing-for-those-thousand/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Here is a man who was resigned to his fate, who was walking to the scaffold and about to die like a coward, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/here-is-a-man-who-was-resigned-to-his-fate-who-was-walking-to-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/i-am-not-proud-but-i-am-happy-and-happiness-blinds-i-think-more-than/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [For there are two distinct sorts of ideas: Those that proceed from the head and those that emanate from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/for-there-are-two-distinct-sorts-of-ideas-those-that-proceed-from-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Besides, what is required of a young man in Paris? To speak its language tolerably, to make a good appearance, to be a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/besides-what-is-required-of-a-young-man-in-paris-to-speak-its/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Carry your sorrow inside you as the cloud conceals ruin and death like a deadly secret that is understood only when the storm breaks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/carry-your-sorrow-inside-you-as-the-cloud-conceals-ruin-and-death/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“What fragile and unknown threads the destinies of nations and the lives of men are suspended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-fragile-and-unknown-threads-the-destinies-of-nations-and-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) [Explore all 473 Alexandre Dumas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. 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On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But there is this terrible thing in evil thoughts, that evil minds soon grow familiar with them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexandre Dumas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/but-there-is-this-terrible-thing-in-evil-thoughts-that-evil-minds/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/but-there-is-this-terrible-thing-in-evil-thoughts-that-evil-minds/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/alexandre-dumas-436_evil_but-there-is-this-terrible-thing-in-evil_2839856.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/alexandre-dumas-436_evil_but-there-is-this-terrible-thing-in-evil_2839856.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/alexandre-dumas-436_evil_but-there-is-this-terrible-thing-in-evil_2839856.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But there is this terrible thing in evil thoughts, that evil minds soon grow familiar with them.” — Alexandre Dumas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexandre Dumas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But there is this terrible thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/but-there-is-this-terrible-thing-in-evil-thoughts-that-evil-minds/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/but-there-is-this-terrible-thing-in-evil-thoughts-that-evil-minds/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```