--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: good doesn't always follow from good…" description: "\"“good doesn't always follow from good deeds, nor bad deeds result from bad, does it? Even the wise and good cannot see the end of all actions.”\" — Donn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/donna-tartt-391_evil_good-doesn-t-always-follow-from-good-dee_3203380.jpg" --- # good doesn't always follow from good deeds, nor bad deeds… ![“good doesn't always follow from good deeds, nor bad deeds result from bad, does it? Even the wise and good cannot see the end of all actions.” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/donna-tartt-391_evil_good-doesn-t-always-follow-from-good-dee_3203380.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/donna-tartt-391_evil_good-doesn-t-always-follow-from-good-dee_3203380.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/donna-tartt-391_evil_good-doesn-t-always-follow-from-good-dee_3203380.jpg) > ““good doesn't always follow from good deeds, nor bad deeds result from bad, does it? Even the wise and good cannot see the end of all actions.”” [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good actions do not guarantee good outcomes, nor do bad actions always lead to bad results; even wise people cannot predict all consequences. **In simple terms:** Actions' outcomes are unpredictable. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty, act wisely. Themes ethics uncertainty wisdom Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - decision making - leadership - risk assessment Key Concepts moral philosophy human limitation Questions to Reflect On - How do you navigate moral uncertainty? - Can you trust intuition in complex decisions? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on unpredictability can cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-deeds/) ## Related quotes > [I am much more afraid of my good deeds that please me than of my bad deeds that repel me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-am-much-more-afraid-of-my-good-deeds-that-please-me-than-of-my-bad/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Be careful, if you do bad deeds, bad things are gonna come and bite you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica/be-careful-if-you-do-bad-deeds-bad-things-are-gonna-come-and-bite-you/) [Monica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica/) > [Hell is the consequence of your bad deeds. Start doing your good deeds from now !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/hell-is-the-consequence-of-your-bad-deeds-start-doing-your-good-deeds/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“I have taken all my good deeds and all my bad deeds, and cast them … in a heap before the Lord, and fled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dickson/i-have-taken-all-my-good-deeds-and-all-my-bad-deeds-and-cast-them-in/) David Dickson > [We come to the wise One through good deeds.It is important that we keep ourselves physically fit to do good deeds at all times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoroastrianism/we-come-to-the-wise-one-through-good-deeds-it-is-important-that-we/) Zoroastrianism > [Good deeds with bad motives and bad intentions does no one any good...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-deeds-with-bad-motives-and-bad-intentions-does-no-one-any-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Deeds done from bad motives remain everlastingly tainted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/deeds-done-from-bad-motives-remain-everlastingly-tainted/) [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [“God, Juliette, I'd follow you anywhere. You're the only good thing left in this world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/god-juliette-i-d-follow-you-anywhere-you-re-the-only-good-thing-left/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [It is not true that good can follow only from good and evil only from evil, but that often the opposite is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-weber/it-is-not-true-that-good-can-follow-only-from-good-and-evil-only-from-2/) [Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-weber/) > [“I will follow the good side right to the fire, but not into it if I can help it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-will-follow-the-good-side-right-to-the-fire-but-not-into-it-if-i/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“the good are not so by nature...For if they were, this would follow: if the good were so by nature, we would have people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-good-are-not-so-by-nature-for-if-they-were-this-would-follow-if/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It is not true that good can only follow from good and evil only from evil, but that often the opposite is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-weber/it-is-not-true-that-good-can-only-follow-from-good-and-evil-only-from/) [Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-weber/) > [“God calls us to a wild adventure, not a tea party, my dear. I don't follow Jesus because he can give me a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-finley/god-calls-us-to-a-wild-adventure-not-a-tea-party-my-dear-i-don-t/) [Martha Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-finley/) > [Well, the first quality of being a good leader is you have to be able to follow. See, a good leader cant just be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-leslie/well-the-first-quality-of-being-a-good-leader-is-you-have-to-be-able/) [Lisa Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-leslie/) > [To follow good manners willingly is like paving the road and to tell somebody to follow them is like the road which is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/to-follow-good-manners-willingly-is-like-paving-the-road-and-to-tell/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) ## More by Donna Tartt > [I hope we're all ready to leave the phenomenal world, and enter into the sublime?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-hope-we-re-all-ready-to-leave-the-phenomenal-world-and-enter-into/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-i-add-my-own-love-to-the-history-of-people-who-have-loved/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The world won't come to me...so I must go to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-world-won-t-come-to-me-so-i-must-go-to-it/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [There's an expectation these days that novels - like any other consumer product - should be made on a production line, with one dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/there-s-an-expectation-these-days-that-novels-like-any-other-consumer/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. But that Sunday afternoon, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-month-or-two-before-i-would-have-been-appalled-at-the-idea-of-any/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Well, I think storytellers have always found murder a fascinating device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/well-i-think-storytellers-have-always-found-murder-a-fascinating/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Always remember, the person we’re really working for is the person who’s restoring the piece a hundred years from now. He’s the one we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/always-remember-the-person-we-re-really-working-for-is-the-person-who/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The silence between us was happy and strange, connected by the cord and the icy voices thinly echoing. “You don’t have to talk,” she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-silence-between-us-was-happy-and-strange-connected-by-the-cord/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from all the world, that no one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-learn-as-a-child-that-one-is-a-being/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“You didn’t meet many people who moved freely through the world with such a vigorous contempt for it and at the same time such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/you-didn-t-meet-many-people-who-moved-freely-through-the-world-with/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“maybe that’s what’s waiting for us at the end of the journey, a majesty unimaginable until the very moment we find ourselves walking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/maybe-that-s-what-s-waiting-for-us-at-the-end-of-the-journey-a/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“lights and moods and seasons was to see it a thousand different ways and to keep it shut in the dark—a thing made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/lights-and-moods-and-seasons-was-to-see-it-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-great-sorrow-and-one-that-i-am-only-beginning-to-understand-we-don/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Upon meeting Julian Morrow, one has the impression that he is a man of extraordinary sympathy and warmth. But what you call his 'Asiatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/upon-meeting-julian-morrow-one-has-the-impression-that-he-is-a-man-of/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) [Explore all 590 Donna Tartt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## 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": "“good doesn't always follow from good deeds, nor bad deeds result from bad, does it? 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