--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men see things late, and it may be that…" description: "\"Men see things late, and it may be that at times an evil fate drives them on.\" — Bruce Catton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/bruce-catton-15493_evil_men-see-things-late-and-it-may-be-that-a_1209780.jpg" --- # Men see things late, and it may be that at times an evil… ![“Men see things late, and it may be that at times an evil fate drives them on.” quote by Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/bruce-catton-15493_evil_men-see-things-late-and-it-may-be-that-a_1209780.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/bruce-catton-15493_evil_men-see-things-late-and-it-may-be-that-a_1209780.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/bruce-catton-15493_evil_men-see-things-late-and-it-may-be-that-a_1209780.jpg) > “Men see things late, and it may be that at times an evil fate drives them on.” [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Men often recognize danger or destiny too late, sometimes because a malevolent fate seems to push them forward. **In simple terms:** People see danger late, fate may drive them. Key Takeaway Stay vigilant to early signs. Themes fate delay recognition Mood cautionary thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - war planning - financial crises - health warnings - political decisions Key Concepts determinism human blindness Questions to Reflect On - What signs are we ignoring? - How does fatalism affect decision‑making? A Different Perspective Believing in fate can excuse inaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Fate Drives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate-drives-3661581/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Late Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late-times-2887811/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Things Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-late-3001642/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-evil-1244655/) ## Related quotes > [“Fate drives cruel bargains. We must always release one thing before we can grasp something else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-wright/fate-drives-cruel-bargains-we-must-always-release-one-thing-before-we/) [Kim Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-wright/) > [Schooling is the period you love in the too late times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-mustafa/schooling-is-the-period-you-love-in-the-too-late-times/) [Mohammad MUSTAFA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-mustafa/) > [If you show up late, you don't get credit for the class, which made that car ride even more of a test of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee/if-you-show-up-late-you-don-t-get-credit-for-the-class-which-made/) [Tommy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee/) > [“Farewell, friend. I was a thousand times more evil than thou!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moorcock/farewell-friend-i-was-a-thousand-times-more-evil-than-thou/) [Michael Moorcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moorcock/) > [The abuse of terms has at all times been an evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/the-abuse-of-terms-has-at-all-times-been-an-evil/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [“I’m forever realizing things too late.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-forever-realizing-things-too-late/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [There are things I'm never late for. I'm not late for the theater; I'm not late for the movies; I'm not late if my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-radziwill/there-are-things-i-m-never-late-for-i-m-not-late-for-the-theater-i-m/) [Carole Radziwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-radziwill/) > [I learn things late-and only the hard way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-learn-things-late-and-only-the-hard-way/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Being in the fight is like clockwork. Everything just seems to happen - and if you have to think about things, it's too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-hughes/being-in-the-fight-is-like-clockwork-everything-just-seems-to-happen/) [Matt Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-hughes/) > [“This was my day for thinking of things too late. 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But you and I, we've been through that, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/there-are-many-here-among-us-who-feel-that-life-is-but-a-joke-but-you/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out til too late that he's been playing with two queens all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/most-gods-throw-dice-but-fate-plays-chess-and-you-don-t-find-out-til/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) ## More by Bruce Catton > [ Beneath everything else, North and West, there ran a profound, unvoiced, almost subconscious conviction that the \[American\] nation was going to go on growing-in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/beneath-everything-else-north-and-west-there-ran-a-profound-unvoiced/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [The 1860 election became a referendum on the southern way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/the-1860-election-became-a-referendum-on-the-southern-way-of-life/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [What began as a bitter dispute over Union and States' Rights, ended as a struggle over the meaning of freedom in America. At Gettysburg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/what-began-as-a-bitter-dispute-over-union-and-states-rights-ended-as/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [And there is the headlight, shining far down the track, glinting off the steel rails that, like all parallel lines, will meet in infinity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/and-there-is-the-headlight-shining-far-down-the-track-glinting-off/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [The Civil War was fought in 10,000 places, from Valverde, New Mexico, and Tullahoma, Tennessee, to St. Albans, Vermont, and Fernandina on the Florida…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/the-civil-war-was-fought-in-10-000-places-from-valverde-new-mexico/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Even the most painstaking history is a bridge across an eternal mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/even-the-most-painstaking-history-is-a-bridge-across-an-eternal/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Shiloh had as many casualties as Waterloo, and yet there were another 20 Waterloos to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/shiloh-had-as-many-casualties-as-waterloo-and-yet-there-were-another/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [“The end of the war was like the beginning, with the army marching down the open road under the spring sky, seeing a far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/the-end-of-the-war-was-like-the-beginning-with-the-army-marching-down/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [“Early youth is a baffling time. The present moment is nice but it does not last. Living in it is like waiting in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/early-youth-is-a-baffling-time-the-present-moment-is-nice-but-it-does/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Here was the greatest and most moving chapter in American history, a blending of meanness and greatness, an ending and a beginning. It came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/here-was-the-greatest-and-most-moving-chapter-in-american-history-a/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [The present moment is nice but it does not last. Living in it is like waiting in a junction town for the morning limited;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/the-present-moment-is-nice-but-it-does-not-last-living-in-it-is-like/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Like most Rebel soldiers, Sam Watkins owned no slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/like-most-rebel-soldiers-sam-watkins-owned-no-slaves/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Abraham Lincoln was not all brooding and melancholy and patient understanding. There was a hard core in him, and plenty of toughness. He could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/abraham-lincoln-was-not-all-brooding-and-melancholy-and-patient/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Sooner or later you must move down an unknown road that leads beyond the range of the imagination, and the only certainty is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/sooner-or-later-you-must-move-down-an-unknown-road-that-leads-beyond/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [I think I was always subconsciously driven by an attempt to restate that faith and to show where it was properly grounded, how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/i-think-i-was-always-subconsciously-driven-by-an-attempt-to-restate/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) [Explore all 43 Bruce Catton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) ## 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. 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": "Men see things late, and it may be that at times an evil fate drives them on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bruce Catton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/men-see-things-late-and-it-may-be-that-at-times-an-evil-fate-drives/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/men-see-things-late-and-it-may-be-that-at-times-an-evil-fate-drives/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/bruce-catton-15493_evil_men-see-things-late-and-it-may-be-that-a_1209780.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/bruce-catton-15493_evil_men-see-things-late-and-it-may-be-that-a_1209780.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19e/bruce-catton-15493_evil_men-see-things-late-and-it-may-be-that-a_1209780.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men see things late, and it may be that at times an evil fate drives them on.” — Bruce Catton", "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": "Bruce Catton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Men see things late, and it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/men-see-things-late-and-it-may-be-that-at-times-an-evil-fate-drives/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/men-see-things-late-and-it-may-be-that-at-times-an-evil-fate-drives/#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 } } ] } ```