--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The idea ... that collective society…" description: "\"The idea ... that collective society should take hold of Evil and set it down hard in its chair and make it cry seems to many of us absolutely sound. O..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/gerald-stanley-lee-24087_chairs_the-idea-that-collective-society-should_794247.jpg" --- # The idea ... that collective society should take hold of… ![“The idea ... that collective society should take hold of Evil and set it down hard in its chair and make it cry seems to many of us absolutely sound. Of course, we feel that it is not for us, those who love righteousness, to jump on the necks of the wicked. We prefer to have it attended to in a…” quote by Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/gerald-stanley-lee-24087_chairs_the-idea-that-collective-society-should_794247.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/gerald-stanley-lee-24087_chairs_the-idea-that-collective-society-should_794247.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ae/gerald-stanley-lee-24087_chairs_the-idea-that-collective-society-should_794247.jpg) > “The idea ... that collective society should take hold of Evil and set it down hard in its chair and make it cry seems to many of us absolutely sound. Of course, we feel that it is not for us, those who love righteousness, to jump on the necks of the wicked. We prefer to have it attended to in a more dignified, impersonal way by Society as a whole.” [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society should collectively confront evil decisively rather than leaving individuals to act personally, aiming for a dignified, impersonal resolution. **In simple terms:** Society must handle evil together. Key Takeaway Promote collective action against wrongdoing. Themes justice collective responsibility ethics Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - policy making - community activism - legal reform - education campaigns Key Concepts philosophy social contract Questions to Reflect On - Can impersonal approaches truly address moral harm? - How to ensure accountability in collective action? A Different Perspective Risk of bureaucratic detachment from individual suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Righteousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/righteousness/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) ## Related quotes > [Independent self-reliant people would be a counterproductive anachronism in the collective society of the future where people will be defined by their associations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/independent-self-reliant-people-would-be-a-counterproductive/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [This kind of collective society - giving to each according to his need - existed in Africa not only before Karl Marx, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henrik-clarke/this-kind-of-collective-society-giving-to-each-according-to-his-need/) [John Henrik Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henrik-clarke/) > [I hold that all the evil we know on earth finds in this violence done to love its true and legitimate birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-arnold/i-hold-that-all-the-evil-we-know-on-earth-finds-in-this-violence-done/) [George Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-arnold/) > [“Sauruman believes that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-walsh-philippa-boyens-peter-jackson-guillermo-del-toro/sauruman-believes-that-it-is-only-great-power-that-can-hold-evil-in/) Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Peter Jackson Guillermo del Toro > [I think we need to find a way to provide people with a reason that the average man on the street can grasp and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/i-think-we-need-to-find-a-way-to-provide-people-with-a-reason-that/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [In a collective society, everybody's business is everybody's business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henrik-clarke/in-a-collective-society-everybody-s-business-is-everybody-s-business/) [John Henrik Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henrik-clarke/) > [Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-believe-it-is-only-great-power-that-can-hold-evil-in-check-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/children-who-know-how-to-think-for-themselves-spoil-the-harmony-of/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [It matters not where you live, or what rank of life you hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/it-matters-not-where-you-live-or-what-rank-of-life-you-hold-the-evil/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“I hold no evil in my heart...This evil does not touch me. More may come, but not this. Not here. Not now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-hold-no-evil-in-my-heart-this-evil-does-not-touch-me-more-may-come/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [If Jesus had been killed twenty years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/if-jesus-had-been-killed-twenty-years-ago-catholic-school-children/) [Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/) > [And now we can't," I said. "Which sucks, but the main thing is that your dad's alive." He smiled, hesitant at first, then a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/and-now-we-can-t-i-said-which-sucks-but-the-main-thing-is-that-your/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## More by Gerald Stanley Lee > [To be original is to discover the commonplace of a thousand years--to face at first the sneer that no one would have thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/to-be-original-is-to-discover-the-commonplace-of-a-thousand-years-to/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [Machinery is the subconscious mind of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/machinery-is-the-subconscious-mind-of-the-world/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [The first and most practical step in getting what one wants in this world is wanting it. One would think that the next step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/the-first-and-most-practical-step-in-getting-what-one-wants-in-this/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [I have seen that Man moves over with each new generation into a bigger body, more awful, more reverent and more free than he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/i-have-seen-that-man-moves-over-with-each-new-generation-into-a/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [We may have hell if we have war, and we may have hell if we have peace. But if we have no vision for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/we-may-have-hell-if-we-have-war-and-we-may-have-hell-if-we-have-peace/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [No man living in a world as interesting as this ever writes a book if he can help it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/no-man-living-in-a-world-as-interesting-as-this-ever-writes-a-book-if/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [We have had the stone age; we have had the iron age; and now we have the sky age, and the sky telegraph, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/we-have-had-the-stone-age-we-have-had-the-iron-age-and-now-we-have/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [What was invented two thousand years ago was the spirit of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/what-was-invented-two-thousand-years-ago-was-the-spirit-of/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [The problem of living in this modern world is the problem of finding room in it. The crowd principle is so universally at work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/the-problem-of-living-in-this-modern-world-is-the-problem-of-finding/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [There are two kinds of second class men in business. There is the man who puts money first and service second. There is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/there-are-two-kinds-of-second-class-men-in-business-there-is-the-man/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [Christmas it too large to be tucked away in the toe of a child's stocking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/christmas-it-too-large-to-be-tucked-away-in-the-toe-of-a-child-s/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [A vice is a failure of desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/a-vice-is-a-failure-of-desire/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [New York is the capital, the national headquarters of homelessness… No one feels he belongs here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/new-york-is-the-capital-the-national-headquarters-of-homelessness-no/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [The great man is the man who can get himself made and who will get himself made out of anything he finds at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/the-great-man-is-the-man-who-can-get-himself-made-and-who-will-get/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [Machinery makes men like itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/machinery-makes-men-like-itself/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) [Explore all 25 Gerald Stanley Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) ## More Chairs quotes > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Forget the noose. Forget the Iron Maiden. Forget the electric chair or the guillotine. The mind was mankind's most painful torture chamber, the blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/forget-the-noose-forget-the-iron-maiden-forget-the-electric-chair-or/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [I thought being in the wheelchair might be kind of limiting for me as an actor. It turned out cool in a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-beaver/i-thought-being-in-the-wheelchair-might-be-kind-of-limiting-for-me-as/) [Jim Beaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-beaver/) > [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Keelhaul the poets in the vestry chairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-shapiro/keelhaul-the-poets-in-the-vestry-chairs/) [Karl Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-shapiro/) > [He's earned all his money himself, with his fists. He didn't steal it like the rest of our politicians. And he'll be less tempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitali-klitschko/he-s-earned-all-his-money-himself-with-his-fists-he-didn-t-steal-it/) [Vitali Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitali-klitschko/) > [Dentists tell you not to pick your teeth with any sharp metal object. Then you sit in their chair and the first thing they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/dentists-tell-you-not-to-pick-your-teeth-with-any-sharp-metal-object/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Once I was in a restaurant and I dropped my fork on the floor, and they gave me a new fork. So I pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/once-i-was-in-a-restaurant-and-i-dropped-my-fork-on-the-floor-and/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I'm not a big hijinker. I'm a big sit-in-my-chair-and-read-a-book-er.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/i-m-not-a-big-hijinker-i-m-a-big-sit-in-my-chair-and-read-a-book-er/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) > [Show some mercy to this chair which has stretched out its arms to you for so long; please satisfy its desire to embrace you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/show-some-mercy-to-this-chair-which-has-stretched-out-its-arms-to-you/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [I'm agnostic because I went through the usual process of parents insisting you go to church, and yet they didn't. So there's me, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-m-agnostic-because-i-went-through-the-usual-process-of-parents/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [Of course, when we got home, we found that Dagda had peed on my down comforter. He had also eaten part of Mom's maidenhair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-tiernan/of-course-when-we-got-home-we-found-that-dagda-had-peed-on-my-down/) [Cate Tiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-tiernan/) Browse all 1,120 Chairs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The idea ... that collective society should take hold of Evil and set it down hard in its chair and make it cry seems to many of us absolutely sound. Of course, we feel that it is not for us, those who love righteousness, to jump on the necks of the wicked. 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