--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ubi boni, malum prosperat (Where good men…" description: "\"“Ubi boni, malum prosperat (Where good men are silent, evil prospers)”\" — F. Sionil José" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/f-sionil-jos-2399_evil_ubi-boni-malum-prosperat-where-good-men_2514452.png" --- # Ubi boni, malum prosperat (Where good men are silent, evil… ![“Ubi boni, malum prosperat (Where good men are silent, evil prospers)” quote by F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/f-sionil-jos-2399_evil_ubi-boni-malum-prosperat-where-good-men_2514452.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/f-sionil-jos-2399_evil_ubi-boni-malum-prosperat-where-good-men_2514452.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea0/f-sionil-jos-2399_evil_ubi-boni-malum-prosperat-where-good-men_2514452.png) > ““Ubi boni, malum prosperat (Where good men are silent, evil prospers)”” [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When good people stay silent, evil thrives; it warns that inaction enables wrongdoing. **In simple terms:** Silence lets evil prosper. Key Takeaway Speak up against injustice. Themes morality silence evil courage social responsibility Mood urgent reflective determined Type political ethical When to use this quote - protesting injustice - reporting abuse - advocating for rights - community organizing Key Concepts political theory ethical duty civic engagement Questions to Reflect On - Why do good people stay silent? - What actions can break the cycle of inaction? A Different Perspective Silence may stem from fear or powerlessness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-men/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Prospers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prospers/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [Evil prospers when good men do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-philpot-curran/evil-prospers-when-good-men-do-nothing/) [John Philpot Curran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-philpot-curran/) > [“In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-i-solzhenitsyn/in-keeping-silent-about-evil-in-burying-it-so-deep-within-us-that-no-2/) [Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-i-solzhenitsyn/) > [In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/in-keeping-silent-about-evil-in-burying-it-so-deep-within-us-that-no/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Contemporary Christians have declared war on individual immorality but seem remarkably silent about the evil of systems, especially corporate greed and malfeasance. (p. 176)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-r-meyers/contemporary-christians-have-declared-war-on-individual-immorality/) [Robin R. Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-r-meyers/) > [Like a lovely orchid, or anything else that's nurtured, marriage prospers and grows, but if it's ignored, it withers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/like-a-lovely-orchid-or-anything-else-that-s-nurtured-marriage/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [When the country prospers, everyone does. In music and in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-stallone/when-the-country-prospers-everyone-does-in-music-and-in-everything/) [Frank Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-stallone/) > [I imagine an America that can actually change. That we become a nation that prospers again but without pillaging the resources of nations that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-imagine-an-america-that-can-actually-change-that-we-become-a-nation/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [...real prosperity can only come when everybody prospers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/real-prosperity-can-only-come-when-everybody-prospers/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [Logging is an industry driven solely by greed. It prospers with government support and subsidies, and it is accelerating its rate of destruction, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/logging-is-an-industry-driven-solely-by-greed-it-prospers-with/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [Without labor nothing prospers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/without-labor-nothing-prospers/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“What you let inside multiplies and prospers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramzi-najjar/what-you-let-inside-multiplies-and-prospers/) Ramzi Najjar > [A man's homeland is wherever he prospers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/a-man-s-homeland-is-wherever-he-prospers/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“Excellence prospers in the absence of excuses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/excellence-prospers-in-the-absence-of-excuses/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [But the more an organization succeeds and prospers, the more it is likely to be diverted from its original ideals, principles and purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shea/but-the-more-an-organization-succeeds-and-prospers-the-more-it-is/) [Robert Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shea/) > [“..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/) ## More by F. Sionil José > [“There is nothing like the land you belong to claiming you back. But everywhere the earth is the same. -Old David”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/there-is-nothing-like-the-land-you-belong-to-claiming-you-back-but/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [“Indeed time has that ultimate capacity to render the passions of the past when recalled in the present as no more than grandiloquent gestures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/indeed-time-has-that-ultimate-capacity-to-render-the-passions-of-the/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [Class - or the economic status of individuals - is evident in all societies, some very well stratified by a rigid caste system determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/class-or-the-economic-status-of-individuals-is-evident-in-all/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [We write from life and call it literature, and literature lives because we are in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/we-write-from-life-and-call-it-literature-and-literature-lives/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [I can imagine the writers of China, England and France, crippled and unsure of themselves when they feel that the ghosts of Confucius, Mencius,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/i-can-imagine-the-writers-of-china-england-and-france-crippled-and/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [Always remember: the alleviation of poverty is never a political or economic issue - it is moral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/always-remember-the-alleviation-of-poverty-is-never-a-political-or/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [In the end, religion teaches us to value truth, justice and freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/in-the-end-religion-teaches-us-to-value-truth-justice-and-freedom/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [My reading of philosophy and history is desultory; I know so much and yet so little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/my-reading-of-philosophy-and-history-is-desultory-i-know-so-much-and/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [Life is always sad. That's what makes suicide so tempting because life is all that we really have and haven't. Death makes us equals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/life-is-always-sad-that-s-what-makes-suicide-so-tempting-because-life/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [We recognize the distinctness of Asian art when we turn to its traditional forms, recognize it as Japanese, Chinese and Indian, even Balinese or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/we-recognize-the-distinctness-of-asian-art-when-we-turn-to-its/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [“There is nothing in the world which an artist cannot recreate into something poetic, ennobling. And why do we read these things? They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/there-is-nothing-in-the-world-which-an-artist-cannot-recreate-into/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [All through history, a nation or a civilization's enduring glory is articulated by its mega constructions - the pyramids, the lofty cathedrals of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/all-through-history-a-nation-or-a-civilization-s-enduring-glory-is/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [Colonialism subdues in many dulcet guises. It conquered under the pretext of spreading Christianity, civilization, law and order, to make the world safe for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/colonialism-subdues-in-many-dulcet-guises-it-conquered-under-the/) [F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [November is auspicious in so many parts of the country: the rice harvest is already in, the weather starts to cool, and the festive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/november-is-auspicious-in-so-many-parts-of-the-country-the-rice/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [“No stranger can come battering down my door and say he brings me light. This I have within me. -Istak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/no-stranger-can-come-battering-down-my-door-and-say-he-brings-me/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) [Explore all 168 F. Sionil José quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) ## 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": "“Ubi boni, malum prosperat (Where good men are silent, evil prospers)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "F. 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