--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most painful moral struggles are not…" description: "\"The most painful moral struggles are not those between good and evil, but between the good and the lesser good.\" — Barbara Grizzuti Harrison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_evil_the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not_9450.jpg" --- # The most painful moral struggles are not those between… ![“The most painful moral struggles are not those between good and evil, but between the good and the lesser good.” quote by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_evil_the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not_9450.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_evil_the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not_9450.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_evil_the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not_9450.jpg) > “The most painful moral struggles are not those between good and evil, but between the good and the lesser good.” [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral conflict arises when choosing between two commendable options, making the decision harder than a clear-cut battle of good versus evil. **In simple terms:** Choosing between two good options is harder than good vs. evil. Key Takeaway Hard choices involve nuanced ethics. Themes ethical dilemmas moral relativism decision making values complexity Mood thoughtful reflective Type aphoristic philosophical When to use this quote - leadership decisions - personal relationships - policy formulation - resource allocation Key Concepts moral conflict good vs. good ethical nuance Practical Applications - ethics training - conflict resolution Questions to Reflect On - What criteria help when both options seem good? - How do we reconcile regret after choosing the lesser good? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Struggles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggles/) ## Related quotes > [A good piece of fiction, in my view, does not offer solutions. Good stories deal with our moral struggles, our uncertainties, our dreams, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/a-good-piece-of-fiction-in-my-view-does-not-offer-solutions-good/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Still it might be nice, once in a while, not to have to choose between evils. Just once, couldn't I choose the lesser good?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/still-it-might-be-nice-once-in-a-while-not-to-have-to-choose-between/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Failure and setbacks and struggles are where all the good stuff happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teri-mckeever/failure-and-setbacks-and-struggles-are-where-all-the-good-stuff/) Teri McKeever > [“Evil does not fight against evil, rather it struggles against Good. Where as, Good does not struggle against evil, rather it overwhelmingly defeats it".…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/evil-does-not-fight-against-evil-rather-it-struggles-against-good/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [“All great myths and stories follow a similar pattern. The hero gets distracted and questions his power. He struggles and flounders until he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/all-great-myths-and-stories-follow-a-similar-pattern-the-hero-gets/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Life gives us struggles first and reward later. And as a writer my life's purpose is to write and tell stories. Some people encourage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/life-gives-us-struggles-first-and-reward-later-and-as-a-writer-my/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [Everyone has those times when you feel like you don't fit in. Everyone struggles to a certain extent with being cool and popular, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-boldman/everyone-has-those-times-when-you-feel-like-you-don-t-fit-in-everyone/) [Spencer Boldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-boldman/) > [People pray to not have struggles in their lives. Answer me this…What will motivate and push the people of today's society to succeed if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasari/people-pray-to-not-have-struggles-in-their-lives-answer-me-this-what/) [Jasari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasari/) > [A scar simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-scar-simply-means-you-were-stronger-than-whatever-tried-to-hurt-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Life isn’t about obtaining some form of perfection, but it’s about enjoying each leg of the journey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asa-don-brown/life-isn-t-about-obtaining-some-form-of-perfection-but-it-s-about/) [Asa Don Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asa-don-brown/) > [I am a woman of substance and there's a lot inside me. I have had my own struggles and my journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmin-bhasin/i-am-a-woman-of-substance-and-there-s-a-lot-inside-me-i-have-had-my/) [Jasmin Bhasin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmin-bhasin/) > [When the band first formed, everybody had been sidemen. So they said, 'In this band there are no sidemen,' and when I joined the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-felder/when-the-band-first-formed-everybody-had-been-sidemen-so-they-said-in/) [Don Felder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-felder/) > [No smile is more BEAUTIFUL than the one that struggles through all the tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xxemokinwannabexx/no-smile-is-more-beautiful-than-the-one-that-struggles-through-all/) [XxEmoKinWannabexx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xxemokinwannabexx/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) ## More by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison > [The best work is a fusion of love and praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/the-best-work-is-a-fusion-of-love-and-praise/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant reality; they are also dress rehearsals, plans. All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/fantasies-are-more-than-substitutes-for-unpleasant-reality-they-are/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [Women's propensity to share confidences is universal. We confirm our reality by sharing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/women-s-propensity-to-share-confidences-is-universal-we-confirm-our/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [How do you think it would feel to be obliged to ask for a seat-belt extender on an airplane? For the unfashionably bulgy, life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/how-do-you-think-it-would-feel-to-be-obliged-to-ask-for-a-seat-belt/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [To offer the complexities of life as an excuse for not addressing oneself to the simpler, more manageable (trivial) aspects of daily existence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/to-offer-the-complexities-of-life-as-an-excuse-for-not-addressing/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [Food is my drug of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/food-is-my-drug-of-choice/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [Children hold us hostage; they represent our commitment to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/children-hold-us-hostage-they-represent-our-commitment-to-the-future/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [my love of water ... is mingled with and almost indistinguishable from a fear of water (I can float in a vertical position -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/my-love-of-water-is-mingled-with-and-almost-indistinguishable-from-a/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [Illness is regarded as a crime, and crime is regarded as illness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/illness-is-regarded-as-a-crime-and-crime-is-regarded-as-illness/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [ \[On Werner Erhard, founder of est:\] If I wanted a new belief system, I'd choose to believe in God - He's been in business… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/on-werner-erhard-founder-of-est-if-i-wanted-a-new-belief-system-i-d/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [Every house we have lived in, every building to which our hands have lent their work, belongs to us by virtue of love or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/every-house-we-have-lived-in-every-building-to-which-our-hands-have/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [Every generation reinvents the wheel - and in the process it often adds to rather than subtracts from a woman's burdens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/every-generation-reinvents-the-wheel-and-in-the-process-it-often-adds/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [Insanity is a lack of proportion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/insanity-is-a-lack-of-proportion/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [There is something worse than dying, and that is humiliation - at least so it seemed to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/there-is-something-worse-than-dying-and-that-is-humiliation-at-least/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [it's perfectly possible to hate one's fat and to love one's body at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/it-s-perfectly-possible-to-hate-one-s-fat-and-to-love-one-s-body-at/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) [Explore all 72 Barbara Grizzuti Harrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) ## 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 > [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. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. 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": "The most painful moral struggles are not those between good and evil, but between the good and the lesser good.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Grizzuti Harrison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not-those-between-good-and-evil/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not-those-between-good-and-evil/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_evil_the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not_9450.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_evil_the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not_9450.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b3/barbara-grizzuti-harrison-9482_evil_the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not_9450.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most painful moral struggles are not those between good and evil, but between the good and the lesser…” — Barbara Grizzuti Harrison", "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": "Barbara Grizzuti Harrison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The most painful moral struggles are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not-those-between-good-and-evil/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not-those-between-good-and-evil/#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 } } ] } ```