--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The wicked know that if the ill they do…" description: "\"“The wicked know that if the ill they do be of sufficient horror that men will not speak against it. That men have just enough stomach for small evils ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/cormac-mccarthy-181_evil_the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do_2384955.jpg" --- # The wicked know that if the ill they do be of sufficient… ![“The wicked know that if the ill they do be of sufficient horror that men will not speak against it. That men have just enough stomach for small evils and only these will they oppose. He said that true evil has power to sober the smalldoer against his own deeds and in the contemplation of that evil…” quote by Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/cormac-mccarthy-181_evil_the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do_2384955.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/cormac-mccarthy-181_evil_the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do_2384955.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/cormac-mccarthy-181_evil_the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do_2384955.jpg) > ““The wicked know that if the ill they do be of sufficient horror that men will not speak against it. That men have just enough stomach for small evils and only these will they oppose. He said that true evil has power to sober the smalldoer against his own deeds and in the contemplation of that evil he may even find the path of righteousness which has been foreign to his feet and may have no power but to go upon it. Even this man may be appalled at what is revealed to him and seek some order to stand against it. Yet in all of this there are two things which perhaps he will not know. He will not know that while the order which the righteous seek is never righteousness itself but is only order, the disorder of evil is in fact the thing itself. Nor will he know that while the righteous are hampered at every turn by their ignorance of evil to the evil all is plain, light and dark alike. This man of which we speak will seek to impose order and lineage upon things which rightly have none. He will call upon the world itself to testify as to the truth of what are in fact but his desires. In his final incarnation he may seek to indemnify his words with blood for by now he will have discovered that words pale and lose their savor while pain is always new.”” [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage argues that true evil is so overwhelming that it forces people to confront their own morality, while righteous attempts at order often miss the deeper chaos of evil. **In simple terms:** Evil reveals itself, order may miss the chaos. Key Takeaway Recognize that confronting evil can reveal hidden truths. Themes morality power order evil truth Mood intense thoughtful somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal reflection - political analysis - literary criticism - psychological insight Key Concepts philosophical existential ethical Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting darkness change one's sense of righteousness? - Can order arise without acknowledging underlying evil? A Different Perspective The view may overgeneralize evil and ignore nuanced human motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Light and dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-and-dark/) [True evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-evil/) ## Related quotes > [“The wicked know that if the ill they do be of sufficient horror that men will not speak against it. That men have just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do-be-of-sufficient-horror-that/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Ignorance is the evil - knowledge will be the remedy. Knowledge not of what sort of beings we shall be hereafter, or what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernestine-rose/ignorance-is-the-evil-knowledge-will-be-the-remedy-knowledge-not-of/) [Ernestine Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernestine-rose/) > [Ignorance is an evil weed, which dictators may cultivate among their dupes, but which no democracy can afford among its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beveridge/ignorance-is-an-evil-weed-which-dictators-may-cultivate-among-their/) [William Beveridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beveridge/) > [I envy animals for two things - their ignorance of evil to come, and their ignorance of what is said about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/i-envy-animals-for-two-things-their-ignorance-of-evil-to-come-and/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Help and you will abolish apathy-the void that is so quickly filled by ignorance and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/help-and-you-will-abolish-apathy-the-void-that-is-so-quickly-filled/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [Can one be fully human without experiencing tragedy? The only tragedy there is in the world is ignorance; all evil comes from that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/can-one-be-fully-human-without-experiencing-tragedy-the-only-tragedy/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [One day Mara, the Buddhist god of ignorance and evil, was traveling through the villages of India with his attendants. He saw a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/one-day-mara-the-buddhist-god-of-ignorance-and-evil-was-traveling/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“Ignorance and evil-an ugly alliance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-angleberger/ignorance-and-evil-an-ugly-alliance/) [Tom Angleberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-angleberger/) > [Races are very often invented from ignorance, or for evil purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-lieber/races-are-very-often-invented-from-ignorance-or-for-evil-purposes/) Francis Lieber > [“Ignorance and evil, even in full flight, deal terrible backhanded      strokes at their pursuers."—HELPS.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/ignorance-and-evil-even-in-full-flight-deal-terrible-backhanded/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [God's plan' is often a front for men's plans and a cover for inadequacy, ignorance, and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-daly/god-s-plan-is-often-a-front-for-men-s-plans-and-a-cover-for/) [Mary Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-daly/) > [“Old age is far more than white hair, wrinkles, the feeling that it is too late and the game is finished, that the stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/old-age-is-far-more-than-white-hair-wrinkles-the-feeling-that-it-is/) [Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/) > [“True evil is always petty and often incompetent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-chilton/true-evil-is-always-petty-and-often-incompetent/) [Claire Chilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-chilton/) > [“I have experienced real horror. I have known true evil. Its name is human nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-newman/i-have-experienced-real-horror-i-have-known-true-evil-its-name-is/) [James Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-newman/) > [“I do think there is evil. But it is very rare. It is as rare as true goodness. And just as true goodness produces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/i-do-think-there-is-evil-but-it-is-very-rare-it-is-as-rare-as-true/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) ## More by Cormac McCarthy > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The events of the world can have no separate life from the world. And yet the world itself can have no temporal view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-events-of-the-world-can-have-no-separate-life-from-the-world-and/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“I had two dreams about him after he died. I dont remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-had-two-dreams-about-him-after-he-died-i-dont-remember-the-first/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-think-people-was-meaner-then-than-they-are-now-the-deputy-said/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They set forth in a crimson dawn where sky and earth closed in a razorous plane. Out there dark little archipelagos of cloud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-set-forth-in-a-crimson-dawn-where-sky-and-earth-closed-in-a/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/nothing-where-all-was-burnt-to-ash-before-them-no-fires-were-to-be/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [He said that whether a man's life was writ in a book someplace or whether it took its form day by day was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-that-whether-a-man-s-life-was-writ-in-a-book-someplace-or/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“He lives in a room above a courtyard behind a tavern and he comes down at night like some fairybook beast to fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-lives-in-a-room-above-a-courtyard-behind-a-tavern-and-he-comes/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Ultimo hombre. Last man standing, must've been one. Where'd he go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/ultimo-hombre-last-man-standing-must-ve-been-one-where-d-he-go/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“They went through the last of the cars and then walked up the track to the locomotive and climbed up to the catwalk. Rust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/they-went-through-the-last-of-the-cars-and-then-walked-up-the-track/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Night fell upon them dark and starblown and the wagon grew swollen near mute with dew. On their chairs in such black immobility these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/night-fell-upon-them-dark-and-starblown-and-the-wagon-grew-swollen/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“When I was in school I studied biology. I learned that in making their experiments scientists will take some group - bacteria, mice, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-i-was-in-school-i-studied-biology-i-learned-that-in-making-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [ “We none of us knew him to speak \[Dutch\]. Asked him where he'd learned it you know what he said? What did he say.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/we-none-of-us-knew-him-to-speak-dutch-asked-him-where-he-d-learned-it/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“You know that the things you put it your head stay there, right?' 'Yeah. But you remember some things, don't you?' 'Yeah. You remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/you-know-that-the-things-you-put-it-your-head-stay-there-right-yeah/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) [Explore all 927 Cormac McCarthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## 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 wicked know that if the ill they do be of sufficient horror that men will not speak against it. That men have just enough stomach for small evils and only these will they oppose. He said that true evil has power to sober the smalldoer against his own deeds and in the contemplation of that evil he may even find the path of righteousness which has been foreign to his feet and may have no power but to go upon it. Even this man may be appalled at what is revealed to him and seek some order to stand against it. Yet in all of this there are two things which perhaps he will not know. He will not know that while the order which the righteous seek is never righteousness itself but is only order, the disorder of evil is in fact the thing itself. Nor will he know that while the righteous are hampered at every turn by their ignorance of evil to the evil all is plain, light and dark alike. This man of which we speak will seek to impose order and lineage upon things which rightly have none. He will call upon the world itself to testify as to the truth of what are in fact but his desires. In his final incarnation he may seek to indemnify his words with blood for by now he will have discovered that words pale and lose their savor while pain is always new.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cormac McCarthy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do-be-of-sufficient-horror-that-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do-be-of-sufficient-horror-that-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/cormac-mccarthy-181_evil_the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do_2384955.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/cormac-mccarthy-181_evil_the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do_2384955.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/cormac-mccarthy-181_evil_the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do_2384955.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The wicked know that if the ill they do be of sufficient horror that men will not speak against it. That men…” — Cormac McCarthy", "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": "Cormac McCarthy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The wicked know that if the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do-be-of-sufficient-horror-that-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do-be-of-sufficient-horror-that-2/#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 } } ] } ```