--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humans were always more capable of evil…" description: "\"“Humans were always more capable of evil than you could imagine. And they were also capable of more wonderment than you could ever fathom. People had c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/heather-o-neill-4972_imaginations_humans-were-always-more-capable-of-evil_1084519.jpg" --- # Humans were always more capable of evil than you could… ![“Humans were always more capable of evil than you could imagine. And they were also capable of more wonderment than you could ever fathom. People had come up with this city. And what was different between them and her? They had hands and eyes. They had imaginations. They went to bed at night, and…” quote by Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/heather-o-neill-4972_imaginations_humans-were-always-more-capable-of-evil_1084519.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/heather-o-neill-4972_imaginations_humans-were-always-more-capable-of-evil_1084519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/heather-o-neill-4972_imaginations_humans-were-always-more-capable-of-evil_1084519.jpg) > ““Humans were always more capable of evil than you could imagine. And they were also capable of more wonderment than you could ever fathom. People had come up with this city. And what was different between them and her? They had hands and eyes. They had imaginations. They went to bed at night, and they had funny adventures in their heads. Anything was possible. But the effects”” [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human nature contains both extreme cruelty and profound awe, shaped by imagination and experience. **In simple terms:** People can be both terrible and wonderful. Key Takeaway Recognize and nurture imagination while guarding against harm. Themes human nature imagination duality morality creativity Mood reflective thoughtful inquisitive Type literary philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - parenting - education - creative writing - conflict resolution - mental health awareness Key Concepts psychology philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance acknowledging darkness with celebrating wonder? - What role does imagination play in moral choices? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize humanity and ignore structural factors influencing behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capable Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable-evil-1338425/) [Evil Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-imagine-2770895/) [Eyes Imaginations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-imaginations-2770897/) [Imaginations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginations/) [Imaginations Went](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginations-went-2770896/) ## Related quotes > [Count Olaf certainly does sound evil. Imagine forcing children to stand near a stove!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/count-olaf-certainly-does-sound-evil-imagine-forcing-children-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Good can imagine Evil; but Evil cannot imagine Good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/good-can-imagine-evil-but-evil-cannot-imagine-good/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [In my head, men and women are equally capable of evil. So are all communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richa-chadha/in-my-head-men-and-women-are-equally-capable-of-evil-so-are-all/) [Richa Chadha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richa-chadha/) > [I know there’s evil in the world, and there always has been. But you don’t need to believe in Satan or demons to explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/i-know-there-s-evil-in-the-world-and-there-always-has-been-but-you/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [You want to kill me, don't you? And here I thought you and your friends were so righteous. You are just as capable of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-want-to-kill-me-don-t-you-and-here-i-thought-you-and-your-friends/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As far as evil goes”—she shrugged one shoulder—“I’ve spent a dozen years studying the subject and there’s one thing I know for sure.” Her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-webb/as-far-as-evil-goes-she-shrugged-one-shoulder-i-ve-spent-a-dozen/) [Debra Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-webb/) > [“It has always been easier to believe himself capable of evil than to accept evil in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-guest/it-has-always-been-easier-to-believe-himself-capable-of-evil-than-to/) [Judith Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-guest/) > [To be successful we must live from our imaginations, not from our memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/to-be-successful-we-must-live-from-our-imaginations-not-from-our/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [O never give me over to my own heart's desires, nor let me follow my own imaginations!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/o-never-give-me-over-to-my-own-heart-s-desires-nor-let-me-follow-my/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [“Imagination is paradise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/imagination-is-paradise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Those who receive the most images into their memories have the most lively imaginations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/those-who-receive-the-most-images-into-their-memories-have-the-most/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/never-be-limited-by-other-people-s-limited-imaginations/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [People who work with me think I should cut my hair. They say casting directors are less likely to hire me with long hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-culkin/people-who-work-with-me-think-i-should-cut-my-hair-they-say-casting/) [Rory Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-culkin/) > [“Dullness. Only humans could have invented it. What imaginations they had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/dullness-only-humans-could-have-invented-it-what-imaginations-they-had/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Television deprives children of their imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-isaac-rubin/television-deprives-children-of-their-imaginations/) [Theodore Isaac Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-isaac-rubin/) ## More by Heather O'Neill > [“You can learn how to be an aristocrat by following a few rules in a very short book. There is nothing to it.” He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/you-can-learn-how-to-be-an-aristocrat-by-following-a-few-rules-in-a/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“I decided to get my butt up out of the coffin, just like Jesus Christ, and come and chitchat with all my beautiful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/i-decided-to-get-my-butt-up-out-of-the-coffin-just-like-jesus-christ/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [In Lullabies, I wanted to capture what I remembered of the drunken babbling of unfortunate twelve-year-olds: their illusions, their ludicrously bad choices, their lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/in-lullabies-i-wanted-to-capture-what-i-remembered-of-the-drunken/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“You know you're my best friend, right?' he said. I shrugged. I guessed it was true. Now that I wasn't going to be at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/you-know-you-re-my-best-friend-right-he-said-i-shrugged-i-guessed-it/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“Jules and I were tiny people. We were delicate. We were almost destroyed. We were vulnerable. Like nerds in a school yard of bullies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/jules-and-i-were-tiny-people-we-were-delicate-we-were-almost/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“Whenever things were going well, I started to feel vain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/whenever-things-were-going-well-i-started-to-feel-vain/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“When you’re young, sex doesn’t mean as much, it isn’t sacred. Children make the best prostitutes because they’re th emost perfunctory about the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/when-you-re-young-sex-doesn-t-mean-as-much-it-isn-t-sacred-children/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“Being a woman was a trap. Something would bring you down before you turned twenty-three. The only time the world shows you any favor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/being-a-woman-was-a-trap-something-would-bring-you-down-before-you/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [Sometimes when you are standing still and it’s snowing, you think that you hear music. You can’t tell where it’s coming from either. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/sometimes-when-you-are-standing-still-and-it-s-snowing-you-think-that/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“What are they supposed to do when they've been told their whole lives not to believe in fairy tales?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/what-are-they-supposed-to-do-when-they-ve-been-told-their-whole-lives/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“Felix was in his room singing into a tape recorder then playing it back and exclaiming, “My God. Do I actually sound like this?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/felix-was-in-his-room-singing-into-a-tape-recorder-then-playing-it/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [Adolescents are still children in that they can't yet tell the difference between make believe and fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/adolescents-are-still-children-in-that-they-can-t-yet-tell-the/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“I went into the room and sat next to Linus on the bed. I put my hand on his shoulder. I was always surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/i-went-into-the-room-and-sat-next-to-linus-on-the-bed-i-put-my-hand/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“my father encouraged me to enter medicine. He told me it was much nobler to worry about humans than about bugs. But you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/my-father-encouraged-me-to-enter-medicine-he-told-me-it-was-much/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) > [“A cat's tail waved above the arm of the couch like an elegant hand in a black glove waving goodbye.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-o-neill/a-cat-s-tail-waved-above-the-arm-of-the-couch-like-an-elegant-hand-in/) [Heather O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) [Explore all 103 Heather O'Neill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-o-neill/) ## More Imaginations quotes > [Television deprives children of their imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-isaac-rubin/television-deprives-children-of-their-imaginations/) [Theodore Isaac Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-isaac-rubin/) > [“Dullness. Only humans could have invented it. What imaginations they had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/dullness-only-humans-could-have-invented-it-what-imaginations-they-had/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [People who work with me think I should cut my hair. They say casting directors are less likely to hire me with long hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-culkin/people-who-work-with-me-think-i-should-cut-my-hair-they-say-casting/) [Rory Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-culkin/) > [Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/never-be-limited-by-other-people-s-limited-imaginations/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [“Those who receive the most images into their memories have the most lively imaginations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/those-who-receive-the-most-images-into-their-memories-have-the-most/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Imagination is paradise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/imagination-is-paradise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [O never give me over to my own heart's desires, nor let me follow my own imaginations!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/o-never-give-me-over-to-my-own-heart-s-desires-nor-let-me-follow-my/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [To be successful we must live from our imaginations, not from our memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/to-be-successful-we-must-live-from-our-imaginations-not-from-our/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [I feel like we are at a time of great creativity if we choose to embrace it as such, if we choose to engage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-feel-like-we-are-at-a-time-of-great-creativity-if-we-choose-to/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [Our thoughts and imaginations are the only real limits to our possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/our-thoughts-and-imaginations-are-the-only-real-limits-to-our/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Can we only love Something created in our own imaginations?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/can-we-only-love-something-created-in-our-own-imaginations/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Reading fairytales to children expands their imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lepage/reading-fairytales-to-children-expands-their-imaginations/) [Robert Lepage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lepage/) > [My husband, David Simon, and I make our livings using our imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lippman/my-husband-david-simon-and-i-make-our-livings-using-our-imaginations/) [Laura Lippman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lippman/) > [Even when we allow our imaginations to run wild on the joys of heaven, we find that our minds are incapable of conceiving what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/even-when-we-allow-our-imaginations-to-run-wild-on-the-joys-of-heaven/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [What wild imaginations one forms where dear self is concerned! How sure to be mistaken!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/what-wild-imaginations-one-forms-where-dear-self-is-concerned-how/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) [Browse all 160 Imaginations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imaginations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Humans were always more capable of evil than you could imagine. And they were also capable of more wonderment than you could ever fathom. People had come up with this city. And what was different between them and her? They had hands and eyes. They had imaginations. They went to bed at night, and they had funny adventures in their heads. Anything was possible. 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