--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only lies and evil come from letting…" description: "\"Only lies and evil come from letting people off.\" — Iris Murdoch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/iris-murdoch-993_evil_only-lies-and-evil-come-from-letting-peo_2414126.png" --- # Only lies and evil come from letting people off. ![“Only lies and evil come from letting people off.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/iris-murdoch-993_evil_only-lies-and-evil-come-from-letting-peo_2414126.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/iris-murdoch-993_evil_only-lies-and-evil-come-from-letting-peo_2414126.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/iris-murdoch-993_evil_only-lies-and-evil-come-from-letting-peo_2414126.png) > “Only lies and evil come from letting people off.” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Allowing wrongdoing goes unchecked leads to moral decay and evil. **In simple terms:** Unchecked lies breed evil. Key Takeaway Hold people accountable. Themes morality accountability evil Mood serious reflective Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - workplace - politics - personal relationships Key Concepts ethical responsibility social justice Questions to Reflect On - What lies are you tolerating? - How does accountability shape society? A Different Perspective Accountability can prevent larger harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“Lies are deceptive little things. Whether they are innocent white lies or the evil midnight black ones, they all have a way of coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lies-are-deceptive-little-things-whether-they-are-innocent-white-lies/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pain and pleasure, good and evil, come to us from unexpected sources. It is not there where we have gathered up our brightest hopes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/pain-and-pleasure-good-and-evil-come-to-us-from-unexpected-sources-it/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [You're as addictive as they get Evil as they come vindictive as they make em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/you-re-as-addictive-as-they-get-evil-as-they-come-vindictive-as-they/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [I played a character in 'Ransom' who was as evil as they come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/i-played-a-character-in-ransom-who-was-as-evil-as-they-come/) [Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/) > [“You said not to do anything that might accidentally contribute to the apocalypse,” Magnus said. “I know you were joking. But it’s less funny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/you-said-not-to-do-anything-that-might-accidentally-contribute-to-the/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“How long can you brush up against evil and not come away stained with it yourself?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-adrian/how-long-can-you-brush-up-against-evil-and-not-come-away-stained-with/) [Lara Adrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-adrian/) > [There is such a thing as doing good that evil may come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/there-is-such-a-thing-as-doing-good-that-evil-may-come/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [There is much said about the wickedness of doing evil that good may come. Alas! there is such a thing as doing good that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/there-is-much-said-about-the-wickedness-of-doing-evil-that-good-may/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [“Either there is evil or you are waiting for the evil to come before you get lost forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sankha-subhra-debnath/either-there-is-evil-or-you-are-waiting-for-the-evil-to-come-before/) Sankha subhra Debnath > [“Whatever evil might come upon us, because we all came about out of love and care and the Bible and Mother Goose . What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whatever-evil-might-come-upon-us-because-we-all-came-about-out-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This world is a cycle! What ever evil you do on to others, will come back to hunt you!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/this-world-is-a-cycle-what-ever-evil-you-do-on-to-others-will-come/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Everyone has an evil side..Some over come it,and others go along with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazzy/everyone-has-an-evil-side-some-over-come-it-and-others-go-along-with/) [Jazzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazzy/) > [We try to bargain with God...I will follow you but don't touch my children, or my husband, don't give me cancer...We are afraid our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-warren/we-try-to-bargain-with-god-i-will-follow-you-but-don-t-touch-my/) [Kay Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-warren/) > [But every soil becomes finally exhausted, and the ploughshare of evil must always come once more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/but-every-soil-becomes-finally-exhausted-and-the-ploughshare-of-evil/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“turn towards evil had come," she wrote, after hearing her brother damn the United States and the "falsely" elected president. It was”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-singer/turn-towards-evil-had-come-she-wrote-after-hearing-her-brother-damn/) [Jane Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-singer/) ## More by Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## 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": "Only lies and evil come from letting people off.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Murdoch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/only-lies-and-evil-come-from-letting-people-off/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/only-lies-and-evil-come-from-letting-people-off/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/iris-murdoch-993_evil_only-lies-and-evil-come-from-letting-peo_2414126.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/iris-murdoch-993_evil_only-lies-and-evil-come-from-letting-peo_2414126.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/122/iris-murdoch-993_evil_only-lies-and-evil-come-from-letting-peo_2414126.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only lies and evil come from letting people off.” — Iris Murdoch", "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": "Iris Murdoch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only lies and evil come from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/only-lies-and-evil-come-from-letting-people-off/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/only-lies-and-evil-come-from-letting-people-off/#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 } } ] } ```