--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a very simple morality: not to do…" description: "\"“I have a very simple morality: not to do good or evil to anyone. Not to do evil, because it seems only fair that others enjoy the same right I demand ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/fernando-pessoa-177_character_i-have-a-very-simple-morality-not-to-do_1859108.jpg" --- # I have a very simple morality: not to do good or evil to… ![“I have a very simple morality: not to do good or evil to anyone. Not to do evil, because it seems only fair that others enjoy the same right I demand for myself – not to be disturbed – and also because I think that the world doesn’t need more than the natural evils it already has. All of us in…” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/fernando-pessoa-177_character_i-have-a-very-simple-morality-not-to-do_1859108.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/fernando-pessoa-177_character_i-have-a-very-simple-morality-not-to-do_1859108.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/fernando-pessoa-177_character_i-have-a-very-simple-morality-not-to-do_1859108.jpg) > ““I have a very simple morality: not to do good or evil to anyone. Not to do evil, because it seems only fair that others enjoy the same right I demand for myself – not to be disturbed – and also because I think that the world doesn’t need more than the natural evils it already has. All of us in this world are living on board a ship that is sailing from one unknown port to another, and we should treat each other with a traveller’s cordiality. Not to do good, because I don’t know what good is, nor even if I do it when I think I do. How do I know what evils I generate if I give a beggar money? How do I know what evils I produce if I teach or instruct? Not knowing, I refrain. And besides, I think that to help or clarify is, in a certain way, to commit the evil of interfering in the lives of others. Kindness depends on a whim of our mood, and we have no right to make others the victims of our whims, however humane or kind-hearted they may be. Good deeds are impositions; that’s why I categorically abhor them.”” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that moral actions are uncertain and potentially harmful, so he prefers non‑interference, viewing kindness as an imposition that may cause unintended evil. **In simple terms:** Moral uncertainty leads to avoiding actions that could cause harm. Key Takeaway Avoid imposing your will on others. Themes ethics uncertainty non‑interference humanity Mood reflective skeptical Type philosophical critical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - personal relationships - charitable acts - teaching - political decisions Key Concepts moral relativism existentialism free will Questions to Reflect On - Is it possible to act without influencing others? - Can non‑interference be truly ethical? A Different Perspective Acts of kindness can unintentionally cause harm, challenging the notion of pure good. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-deeds/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lives of others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-of-others/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) ## Related quotes > [Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to play music that I liked, and even when I was in cover bands when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/ever-since-i-was-a-kid-i-always-wanted-to-play-music-that-i-liked-and/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [Simple morality dictates that unless and until someone can prove the unborn human is not alive, we must give it the benefit of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/simple-morality-dictates-that-unless-and-until-someone-can-prove-the/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Libertarianism is the simple morality we learned as children: Don’t strike first, don’t steal or cheat, keep your promises. If you inadvertently fail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruwart/libertarianism-is-the-simple-morality-we-learned-as-children-don-t/) [Mary Ruwart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruwart/) > [“My father hated people who preached about morality. We're all good when it suits us, he used to say: that doesn't count. It's when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/my-father-hated-people-who-preached-about-morality-we-re-all-good/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [“law of nature that our scientific thinking tends toward the truth, our morality toward the good, and maybe (though he doesn’t go this far)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/law-of-nature-that-our-scientific-thinking-tends-toward-the-truth-our/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“If the Bible and other holy books were at all reliable sources of morality, good and bad religious people wouldn’t both be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-silverman/if-the-bible-and-other-holy-books-were-at-all-reliable-sources-of/) [David Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-silverman/) > [Every man should follow the bent of his nature in art and letters, always provided that he does not offend against the rules of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-should-follow-the-bent-of-his-nature-in-art-and-letters/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ethics, too, are nothing but reverence for life. This is what gives me the fundamental principle of morality, namely, that good consists in maintaining,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/ethics-too-are-nothing-but-reverence-for-life-this-is-what-gives-me/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [Morality is good, and is accepted of God, as far as it goes; but the difficulty is, it does not go far enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/morality-is-good-and-is-accepted-of-god-as-far-as-it-goes-but-the/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [The relations between parents and children are certainly not only those of constraint. There is spontaneous mutual affection, which from the first prompts the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-relations-between-parents-and-children-are-certainly-not-only/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Reverence for life affords me my fundamental principle of morality, namely that good consists in maintaining, assisting, and enhancing life, and that to destroy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/reverence-for-life-affords-me-my-fundamental-principle-of-morality/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [“Well, listen then. On the other side, fresh young lives thrown away for want of help and by thousands, on every side! A hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/well-listen-then-on-the-other-side-fresh-young-lives-thrown-away-for/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Good deeds are impositions; that’s why I categorically abhor them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/good-deeds-are-impositions-that-s-why-i-categorically-abhor-them/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [The meaning of good and bad, of better and worse, is simply helping or hurting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-meaning-of-good-and-bad-of-better-and-worse-is-simply-helping-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [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/) ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have a very simple morality: not to do good or evil to anyone. Not to do evil, because it seems only fair that others enjoy the same right I demand for myself – not to be disturbed – and also because I think that the world doesn’t need more than the natural evils it already has. All of us in this world are living on board a ship that is sailing from one unknown port to another, and we should treat each other with a traveller’s cordiality. Not to do good, because I don’t know what good is, nor even if I do it when I think I do. How do I know what evils I generate if I give a beggar money? How do I know what evils I produce if I teach or instruct? Not knowing, I refrain. And besides, I think that to help or clarify is, in a certain way, to commit the evil of interfering in the lives of others. Kindness depends on a whim of our mood, and we have no right to make others the victims of our whims, however humane or kind-hearted they may be. Good deeds are impositions; that’s why I categorically abhor them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fernando Pessoa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-have-a-very-simple-morality-not-to-do-good-or-evil-to-anyone-not-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-have-a-very-simple-morality-not-to-do-good-or-evil-to-anyone-not-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/fernando-pessoa-177_character_i-have-a-very-simple-morality-not-to-do_1859108.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/fernando-pessoa-177_character_i-have-a-very-simple-morality-not-to-do_1859108.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d3/fernando-pessoa-177_character_i-have-a-very-simple-morality-not-to-do_1859108.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have a very simple morality: not to do good or evil to anyone. Not to do evil, because it seems only fair…” — Fernando Pessoa", "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": "Fernando Pessoa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I have a very simple morality:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-have-a-very-simple-morality-not-to-do-good-or-evil-to-anyone-not-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-have-a-very-simple-morality-not-to-do-good-or-evil-to-anyone-not-to/#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 } } ] } ```