--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For evil to prevail, all that good men…" description: "\"For evil to prevail, all that good men have to do, is nothing.\" — Edmund Burke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/edmund-burke-400_evil_for-evil-to-prevail-all-that-good-men-ha_2825524.jpg" --- # For evil to prevail, all that good men have to do, is… ![“For evil to prevail, all that good men have to do, is nothing.” quote by Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/edmund-burke-400_evil_for-evil-to-prevail-all-that-good-men-ha_2825524.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/edmund-burke-400_evil_for-evil-to-prevail-all-that-good-men-ha_2825524.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/edmund-burke-400_evil_for-evil-to-prevail-all-that-good-men-ha_2825524.jpg) > “For evil to prevail, all that good men have to do, is nothing.” [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If good people do nothing, evil will dominate because it faces no resistance. **In simple terms:** Inaction lets evil win. Key Takeaway Act against injustice. Themes morality responsibility politics Mood concerned determined Type ethical political When to use this quote - community activism - voting - speaking out against oppression Key Concepts civic duty ethical action Questions to Reflect On - What could you do today to oppose wrongdoing? - How does silence enable harm? A Different Perspective Evil may persist despite good intentions if action is absent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Prevail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-prevail-1709450/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-men/) [Prevail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prevail/) [Prevail Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prevail-good-1751450/) ## Related quotes > [All that needs to be done for evil to prevail is good men doing nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/all-that-needs-to-be-done-for-evil-to-prevail-is-good-men-doing/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“All it took for evil to prevail was for good men to do nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-robinson/all-it-took-for-evil-to-prevail-was-for-good-men-to-do-nothing/) [Nathan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-robinson/) > [“For evil to prevail all good men have to do is NOTHING!!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-anderson/for-evil-to-prevail-all-good-men-have-to-do-is-nothing/) [Anne Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-anderson/) > [“that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/that-is-required-for-evil-to-prevail-is-for-good-men-to-do-nothing/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-is-necessary-for-evil-to-prevail-is-for-good-people-to-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Evil might not prevail in the end, but it certainly doesn't fail to devastate in its time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/evil-might-not-prevail-in-the-end-but-it-certainly-doesn-t-fail-to/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“..the world seems full of good men--even if there are monsters in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/the-world-seems-full-of-good-men-even-if-there-are-monsters-in-it/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/all-that-is-necessary-for-the-triumph-of-evil-is-for-good-men-to-do/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/all-that-s-necessary-for-the-forces-of-evil-to-win-in-the-world-is/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The Fate of good men who refuse to become involved in politics is to be ruled by evil men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-fate-of-good-men-who-refuse-to-become-involved-in-politics-is-to/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/all-that-is-necessary-for-evil-to-succeed-is-that-good-men-do-nothing/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Evil succeeds when good men do nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/evil-succeeds-when-good-men-do-nothing/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Evil prevails when good men fail to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/evil-prevails-when-good-men-fail-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [There were some things that only time could cure. Evil men could be destroyed, but nothing could be done with good men who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/there-were-some-things-that-only-time-could-cure-evil-men-could-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-orlov/they-say-evil-prevails-when-good-men-fail-to-act-what-they-ought-to/) [Yuri Orlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-orlov/) ## More by Edmund Burke > [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Many of the greatest tyrants on the records of history have begun their reigns in the fairest manner. But the truth is, this unnatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/many-of-the-greatest-tyrants-on-the-records-of-history-have-begun/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Wise men will apply their remedies to vices, not to names; to the causes of evil which are permanent, not to the occasional organs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/wise-men-will-apply-their-remedies-to-vices-not-to-names-to-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [My vigour relents. I pardon something to the spirit of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/my-vigour-relents-i-pardon-something-to-the-spirit-of-liberty/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The great must submit to the dominion of prudence and of virtue, or none will long submit to the dominion of thegreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-must-submit-to-the-dominion-of-prudence-and-of-virtue-or/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [What is it we all seek for in an election? To answer its real purposes, you must first possess the means of knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/what-is-it-we-all-seek-for-in-an-election-to-answer-its-real-purposes/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Society is indeed a contract. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/society-is-indeed-a-contract-it-is-a-partnership-in-all-science-a/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [You can never plan the future by the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/you-can-never-plan-the-future-by-the-past/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The great inlet by which a colour for oppression has entered into the world is by one man's pretending to determine concerning the happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-inlet-by-which-a-colour-for-oppression-has-entered-into-the/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [By the disposition of a stupendous wisdom, moulding together the great mysterious incorporation of the human race, the whole, at one time, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/by-the-disposition-of-a-stupendous-wisdom-moulding-together-the-great/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Religion, to have any force upon men's understandings,--indeed, to exist at all,--must be supposed paramount to law, and independent for its substance upon any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/religion-to-have-any-force-upon-men-s-understandings-indeed-to-exist/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Explore all 595 Edmund Burke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) ## 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": "For evil to prevail, all that good men have to do, is nothing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund Burke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/for-evil-to-prevail-all-that-good-men-have-to-do-is-nothing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/for-evil-to-prevail-all-that-good-men-have-to-do-is-nothing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/edmund-burke-400_evil_for-evil-to-prevail-all-that-good-men-ha_2825524.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/edmund-burke-400_evil_for-evil-to-prevail-all-that-good-men-ha_2825524.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b18/edmund-burke-400_evil_for-evil-to-prevail-all-that-good-men-ha_2825524.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For evil to prevail, all that good men have to do, is nothing.” — Edmund Burke", "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": "Edmund Burke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For evil to prevail, all that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/for-evil-to-prevail-all-that-good-men-have-to-do-is-nothing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/for-evil-to-prevail-all-that-good-men-have-to-do-is-nothing/#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 } } ] } ```