--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only a writer who has the sense of evil…" description: "\"Only a writer who has the sense of evil can make goodness readable.\" — E. M. Forster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/e-m-forster-1118_evil_only-a-writer-who-has-the-sense-of-evil_746794.png" --- # Only a writer who has the sense of evil can make goodness… ![“Only a writer who has the sense of evil can make goodness readable.” quote by E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/e-m-forster-1118_evil_only-a-writer-who-has-the-sense-of-evil_746794.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/e-m-forster-1118_evil_only-a-writer-who-has-the-sense-of-evil_746794.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f77/e-m-forster-1118_evil_only-a-writer-who-has-the-sense-of-evil_746794.png) > “Only a writer who has the sense of evil can make goodness readable.” [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A writer must understand darkness to portray virtue compellingly, revealing its depth and complexity. **In simple terms:** Understanding evil helps depict goodness clearly. Key Takeaway Explore the dark to illuminate the light. Themes literature morality contrast character writing Mood thoughtful analytical Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - creative workshops - teaching literature - editing fiction Key Concepts ethical duality narrative truth psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting darkness enrich moral storytelling? - Can virtue be compelling without contrast? A Different Perspective Pure goodness may seem flat without tension from darker elements. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Make (the reader) think the evil, make him think it for himself, and you are released from weak specifications. My values are positively all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/make-the-reader-think-the-evil-make-him-think-it-for-himself-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“...For action has no sense. It merely binds one to existence. All existence, however, has no sense. Evil is interpreted as that which leads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/for-action-has-no-sense-it-merely-binds-one-to-existence-all/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Everything understood by the term co-operation is in some sense an evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/everything-understood-by-the-term-co-operation-is-in-some-sense-an/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [We are tainted by modern philosophy which has taught us that all is good, whereas evil has polluted everything and in a very real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/we-are-tainted-by-modern-philosophy-which-has-taught-us-that-all-is/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [“He who dreads death, dreads either an extinction of all sense, or dreads a different sort of sensation. If all sense is extinguished, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/he-who-dreads-death-dreads-either-an-extinction-of-all-sense-or/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Have you ever seen an enchantress? Believe me, they bear no sign, no mark. There is no sense of evil in the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-uther/have-you-ever-seen-an-enchantress-believe-me-they-bear-no-sign-no/) King Uther > [It's a basic tenet you learn at drama school. If you're playing someone evil, you can't make an objective moral judgment. You've got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacki-weaver/it-s-a-basic-tenet-you-learn-at-drama-school-if-you-re-playing/) [Jacki Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacki-weaver/) > [And since, in our passage through this world, painful circumstances occur more frequently than pleasing ones, and since our sense of evil is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/and-since-in-our-passage-through-this-world-painful-circumstances/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [Some girls are evil, and they make all boys devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishant-grover/some-girls-are-evil-and-they-make-all-boys-devil/) [Nishant Grover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishant-grover/) > [The Frenchman Jean-PaulSartre ... had a dialectical mind good as a machine for cybernetics, immense in its way, he could peel a nuance like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/the-frenchman-jean-paulsartre-had-a-dialectical-mind-good-as-a/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [ However, I never thought that \[George W.\] Bush himself was, in any sense, "evil." ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/however-i-never-thought-that-george-w-bush-himself-was-in-any-sense/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [I think that we all know what evil is. We have a sense of what's evil, and certainly killing innocent people is evil. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/i-think-that-we-all-know-what-evil-is-we-have-a-sense-of-what-s-evil/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Consequences from evil will make your past haunt you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/consequences-from-evil-will-make-your-past-haunt-you/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [“Well, if you do sense evil, tell me. I shall be glad to know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/well-if-you-do-sense-evil-tell-me-i-shall-be-glad-to-know/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [Love is the remedy for us but Evil cant fight love. Love makes no sense to evil and it therefore cant twist it round…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-the-remedy-for-us-but-evil-cant-fight-love-love-makes-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by E. M. Forster > [Do not be proud of your inconsistency. It is a pity, it is a pity that we should be equipped like this. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/do-not-be-proud-of-your-inconsistency-it-is-a-pity-it-is-a-pity-that/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Reverence is fatal to literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/reverence-is-fatal-to-literature/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [This element of surprise or mystery - the detective element as it is sometimes rather emptily called - is of great importance in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/this-element-of-surprise-or-mystery-the-detective-element-as-it-is/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [It is so difficult - at least, I find it difficult - to understand people who speak the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/it-is-so-difficult-at-least-i-find-it-difficult-to-understand-people/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/railway-termini-are-our-gates-to-the-glorious-and-the-unknown/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Ah, but you see, I didn't want to be fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/ah-but-you-see-i-didn-t-want-to-be-fair/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [The final test for a novel will be our affection for it, as it is the test of our friends, and of anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/the-final-test-for-a-novel-will-be-our-affection-for-it-as-it-is-the/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [America is rather like life. You can usually find in it what you look for It will probably be interesting, and it is sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/america-is-rather-like-life-you-can-usually-find-in-it-what-you-look/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [A critic has no right to the narrowness which is the frequent prerogative of the creative artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/a-critic-has-no-right-to-the-narrowness-which-is-the-frequent/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [All men are equal — all men, that is to say, who possess umbrellas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/all-men-are-equal-all-men-that-is-to-say-who-possess-umbrellas/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Before the civil war, Pottibakia was a normal member of the Comity of Nations. She erected tariff walls, broke treaties, persecuted minorities, obstructed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/before-the-civil-war-pottibakia-was-a-normal-member-of-the-comity-of/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Chess is a forcing house where the fruits of character can ripen more fully than in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/chess-is-a-forcing-house-where-the-fruits-of-character-can-ripen-more/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [I distrust Great Men... I believe in aristocracy, though... Its members are to be found in all nations and classes, and all through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/i-distrust-great-men-i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-its-members-are/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [Liking one person is an extra reason for liking another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/liking-one-person-is-an-extra-reason-for-liking-another/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [We are not concerned with the very poor. They are unthinkable, and only to be approached by the statistician or the poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/we-are-not-concerned-with-the-very-poor-they-are-unthinkable-and-only/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) [Explore all 287 E. M. Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) ## 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": "Only a writer who has the sense of evil can make goodness readable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. M. 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