--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was benevolent and good; misery made me…" description: "\"I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/anonymous-1_benevolent_i-was-benevolent-and-good-misery-made-me_428565.jpg" --- # I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me… ![“I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/anonymous-1_benevolent_i-was-benevolent-and-good-misery-made-me_428565.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/anonymous-1_benevolent_i-was-benevolent-and-good-misery-made-me_428565.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/anonymous-1_benevolent_i-was-benevolent-and-good-misery-made-me_428565.jpg) > “I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Benevolence can be eroded by suffering, but kindness can restore virtue. **In simple terms:** Suffering corrupts, kindness heals. Key Takeaway Offer compassion to heal. Themes morality redemption human nature Mood hopeful somber Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - prisoner rehabilitation - addiction recovery - relationship conflict - mental health counseling Key Concepts psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What conditions enable lasting virtue? - How can you sustain kindness during hardship? A Different Perspective Recovery may be temporary without systemic support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benevolent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolent/) [Benevolent Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolent-good-1288484/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Good Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-misery-2005822/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Make me happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-me-happy/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Misery Fiend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery-fiend-3783265/) [Shall Virtuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shall-virtuous-643915/) [Virtuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtuous/) ## Related quotes > [And that the best things that grownups do, we do for the children, and that they inspire great good in us. I also want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-soetoro-ng/and-that-the-best-things-that-grownups-do-we-do-for-the-children-and/) [Maya Soetoro-Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-soetoro-ng/) > [The world is intertwined and we therefore have to be gentle in the way that we treat one another and the Earth, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-soetoro-ng/the-world-is-intertwined-and-we-therefore-have-to-be-gentle-in-the/) [Maya Soetoro-Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-soetoro-ng/) > [“And someone, somewhere, was having an even worse time of it than me. I tried to keep that in mind. No matter how crappy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lish-mcbride/and-someone-somewhere-was-having-an-even-worse-time-of-it-than-me-i/) [Lish McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lish-mcbride/) > [“O where shall I find a virtuous woman, for her price is above rubies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/o-where-shall-i-find-a-virtuous-woman-for-her-price-is-above-rubies/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [“If you yield yourself up to His divine working, the Lord will alter your nature; He will subdue the old nature, and breathe new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/if-you-yield-yourself-up-to-his-divine-working-the-lord-will-alter/) [Charles H. Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [“Be calm! I entreat you to hear me before you give vent to your hatred on my devoted head. Have I not suffered enough,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/be-calm-i-entreat-you-to-hear-me-before-you-give-vent-to-your-hatred/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [Everyone feels benevolent if nothing happens to be annoying him at the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-feels-benevolent-if-nothing-happens-to-be-annoying-him-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You pass by a little child, you pass by, spiteful, with ugly words, with wrathful heart; you may not have noticed the child, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-pass-by-a-little-child-you-pass-by-spiteful-with-ugly-words-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The real trouble is that 'kindness' is a quality fatally easy to attribute to ourselves on quite inadequate grounds. Everyone feels benevolent if nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-trouble-is-that-kindness-is-a-quality-fatally-easy-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Freemasonry is an establishment founded on the benevolent intention of extending and conferring mutual happiness upon the best and truest principles of moral life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/freemasonry-is-an-establishment-founded-on-the-benevolent-intention/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I’m on the benevolent side of antisocial. I don’t mind people, but I’d prefer not to have a lot of them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-on-the-benevolent-side-of-antisocial-i-don-t-mind-people-but-i-d/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm very disappointed in Barack Obama. I was very much in support of him in the beginning, but I cannot support war. I cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-m-very-disappointed-in-barack-obama-i-was-very-much-in-support-of/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [After I talk to so many people who are so unhappy about their weight and so depressed that they don't see any rainbows in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simmons/after-i-talk-to-so-many-people-who-are-so-unhappy-about-their-weight/) [Richard Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simmons/) > [The most you can do is stand up for what you believe in. I'm much happier since coming out to my friends and family.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-collins/the-most-you-can-do-is-stand-up-for-what-you-believe-in-i-m-much/) [Jason Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-collins/) > [I'm closer to being happy. I'm doing things that make me happy. In football I loved to practice and I loved to play, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-williams/i-m-closer-to-being-happy-i-m-doing-things-that-make-me-happy-in/) [Ricky Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-williams/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Benevolent quotes > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Intelligent Design opens the whole possibility of us being created in the image of a benevolent God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/intelligent-design-opens-the-whole-possibility-of-us-being-created-in/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [The soul of the truly benevolent man does not seem to reside much in his own body. Its life, to a great extent, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/the-soul-of-the-truly-benevolent-man-does-not-seem-to-reside-much-in/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [If Despotism failed only for want of a capable benevolent despot, what chance has Democracy, which requires a whole population of capable voters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-despotism-failed-only-for-want-of-a-capable-benevolent-despot-what/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/) [sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [You can't have it both ways. You can't have both free will and a benevolent higher power who protects you from yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/you-can-t-have-it-both-ways-you-can-t-have-both-free-will-and-a/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [A universal peace, it is to be feared, is in the catalogue of events, which will never exist but in the imaginations of visionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/a-universal-peace-it-is-to-be-feared-is-in-the-catalogue-of-events/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I worship nothing. Not a good lie nor a dark one. If nature is proof of God's amazing creation then I have truly seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-numan/i-worship-nothing-not-a-good-lie-nor-a-dark-one-if-nature-is-proof-of/) [Gary Numan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-numan/) > [What am I writing for anyway? Is it like dreaming? Is it a benevolent process? Something that moves the past forward? And what about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selima-hill/what-am-i-writing-for-anyway-is-it-like-dreaming-is-it-a-benevolent/) [Selima Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selima-hill/) > [The Jews looked for a special savior, a messiah, who was to redeem mankind by the agreeable process of restoring the fabulous glories of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/the-jews-looked-for-a-special-savior-a-messiah-who-was-to-redeem/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [“It’s okay, buddy!” I shade my eyes and look up at the sky. “Luckily for you, I am both stunningly good-looking and benevolent. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-wolf/it-s-okay-buddy-i-shade-my-eyes-and-look-up-at-the-sky-luckily-for/) [Sara Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-wolf/) > [Nature is not benevolent; Nature is just, gives pound for pound, measure for measure, makes no exceptions, never tempers her decrees with mercy, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/nature-is-not-benevolent-nature-is-just-gives-pound-for-pound-measure/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [“My creed on the subject of slavery is short. Slavery per se is not sin. It is a social condition ordained from the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-morse/my-creed-on-the-subject-of-slavery-is-short-slavery-per-se-is-not-sin/) [Samuel Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-morse/) > [The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. One says: “Merry Christmas”-not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-charming-aspect-of-christmas-is-the-fact-that-it-expresses-good/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [... so large a portion of those who hold much capital, instead of using their various advantages for the greatest good of those around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catharine-beecher/so-large-a-portion-of-those-who-hold-much-capital-instead-of-using/) [Catharine Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catharine-beecher/) [Browse all 289 Benevolent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. 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