--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are no self-proclaimed villains…" description: "\"“There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of self-proclaimed saints. Victorious historians rule where good or evil lies. We abjure labels...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/glen-cook-9893_evil_there-are-no-self-proclaimed-villains-on_163492.jpg" --- # There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of… ![“There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of self-proclaimed saints. Victorious historians rule where good or evil lies. We abjure labels. We fight for money and an indefinable pride. The politics, the ethics, the moralities, are irrelevant.” quote by Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/glen-cook-9893_evil_there-are-no-self-proclaimed-villains-on_163492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/glen-cook-9893_evil_there-are-no-self-proclaimed-villains-on_163492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d1/glen-cook-9893_evil_there-are-no-self-proclaimed-villains-on_163492.jpg) > ““There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of self-proclaimed saints. Victorious historians rule where good or evil lies. We abjure labels. We fight for money and an indefinable pride. The politics, the ethics, the moralities, are irrelevant.”” [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that moral labels are superficial; history is written by victors, and motivations like money and pride drive conflict beyond ethical considerations. **In simple terms:** Labels of good or evil are meaningless; power and pride dictate actions. Key Takeaway Question the narratives presented by those in power. Themes history power morality politics pride Mood critical reflective skeptical Type philosophical political cautionary When to use this quote - war - political campaigns - corporate competition - social movements Key Concepts relativism victor’s bias social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Who decides which side is “right”? - Can pride be a positive force? A Different Perspective It overlooks individuals who act on genuine ethical convictions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) ## Related quotes > [There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of self-proclaimed saints. Victorious historians rule where good or evil lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/there-are-no-self-proclaimed-villains-only-regiments-of-self-2/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [I heard I was the self-proclaimed White Mamba, which I can say I have never self-proclaimed myself anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-taurasi/i-heard-i-was-the-self-proclaimed-white-mamba-which-i-can-say-i-have/) [Diana Taurasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-taurasi/) > [I do not believe in self-proclaimed parties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-mandel/i-do-not-believe-in-self-proclaimed-parties/) [Ernest Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-mandel/) > [I was always a self-proclaimed poor slider.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/i-was-always-a-self-proclaimed-poor-slider/) [Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/) > [I'm a self-proclaimed jeans, a great top and a hoodie type of girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-biden/i-m-a-self-proclaimed-jeans-a-great-top-and-a-hoodie-type-of-girl/) [Ashley Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-biden/) > [I am a self-proclaimed feminist in a lot of ways, but I am not going to say that I will take a pink flag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taapsee-pannu/i-am-a-self-proclaimed-feminist-in-a-lot-of-ways-but-i-am-not-going/) [Taapsee Pannu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taapsee-pannu/) > [Those who lack the ability to accept their own failures are often the self proclaimed experts in explaining what is wrong with everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/qaiffah/those-who-lack-the-ability-to-accept-their-own-failures-are-often-the/) [Qaiffah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/qaiffah/) > [“From my own personal experience I have consistently witness self-proclaimed Christians, get angry over insignificant issues, be unforgiving, and judgmental all while never looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-henegan/from-my-own-personal-experience-i-have-consistently-witness-self/) [Carl Henegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-henegan/) > [“Self-proclaimed kings are often seen as jesters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/self-proclaimed-kings-are-often-seen-as-jesters/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [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/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [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/) > [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 Glen Cook > [“Truth is a deadly weapon, Lady said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/truth-is-a-deadly-weapon-lady-said/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“I cry for a little girl's dreams. I cry because the dreams will not die, though I am powerless to make them come true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/i-cry-for-a-little-girl-s-dreams-i-cry-because-the-dreams-will-not/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [No religion I ever encountered made any sense. None are consistent. Most gods are megalomaniacs and paranoid psychotics by their worshippers' description. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/no-religion-i-ever-encountered-made-any-sense-none-are-consistent/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [Evil is relative…You can’t hang a sign on it. You can’t touch it or taste it or cut it with a sword. Evil depends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/evil-is-relative-you-can-t-hang-a-sign-on-it-you-can-t-touch-it-or/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“The Lady was medicine bad enough. The Dominator, though, was the body of which her evil was but a shadow. Or so the legend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/the-lady-was-medicine-bad-enough-the-dominator-though-was-the-body-of/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“About you and me, Croaker and his gang, the Lady, Silent, Darling. About all the things we had in common but still couldn’t get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/about-you-and-me-croaker-and-his-gang-the-lady-silent-darling-about/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [The people come from everywhere, from five hundred miles, to find their fortunes. By fortune is an ugly, two-faced goddess. When you have lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/the-people-come-from-everywhere-from-five-hundred-miles-to-find-their/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“Closer at hand, the wheeling gulls were as surly and lackadaisical as the day promised to make most men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/closer-at-hand-the-wheeling-gulls-were-as-surly-and-lackadaisical-as/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [A world ought to have a few genuine good guys, and not just a spectrum of people running from bad to worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/a-world-ought-to-have-a-few-genuine-good-guys-and-not-just-a-spectrum/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [I believe in our side and theirs, with the good and evil decided after the fact, by those who survive. Among men you seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/i-believe-in-our-side-and-theirs-with-the-good-and-evil-decided-after/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [Soldiers live. He dies and not you, and you feel guilty, because you're glad he died, and not you. Soldiers live, and wonder why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/soldiers-live-he-dies-and-not-you-and-you-feel-guilty-because-you-re/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“I am the Daughter of Night. I am the Child of Darkness Forthcoming. Come to my mother or become prey for the beasts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/i-am-the-daughter-of-night-i-am-the-child-of-darkness-forthcoming/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [“In the night, when the wind dies and silence rules the place of glittering stone, I remember. And they all live again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/in-the-night-when-the-wind-dies-and-silence-rules-the-place-of/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [Consistency is the sign of a narrow mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/consistency-is-the-sign-of-a-narrow-mind/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [The man who counts on the aid of a god deserves the help he doesn't get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/the-man-who-counts-on-the-aid-of-a-god-deserves-the-help-he-doesn-t/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) [Explore all 69 Glen Cook quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) ## 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": "“There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of self-proclaimed saints. Victorious historians rule where good or evil lies. We abjure labels. We fight for money and an indefinable pride. 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