--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...goodness is not the absence of evil…" description: "\"“...goodness is not the absence of evil - it's the light that pushes back the darkness...”\" — John Geddes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/john-geddes-1052_darkness_goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-evil-it-s_1735751.jpg" --- # ...goodness is not the absence of evil - it's the light… ![“...goodness is not the absence of evil - it's the light that pushes back the darkness...” quote by John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/john-geddes-1052_darkness_goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-evil-it-s_1735751.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/john-geddes-1052_darkness_goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-evil-it-s_1735751.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/john-geddes-1052_darkness_goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-evil-it-s_1735751.jpg) > ““...goodness is not the absence of evil - it's the light that pushes back the darkness...”” [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Goodness is an active force that counters darkness, not merely the lack of evil. **In simple terms:** Goodness actively pushes back darkness. Key Takeaway Cultivate positive actions to diminish negativity. Themes morality light vs darkness ethics Mood hopeful determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - conflict resolution - personal growth - community building - mental health Key Concepts positive force counteraction Questions to Reflect On - In what ways can you be a light in dark situations? - How does active goodness differ from passive non‑evil? A Different Perspective Goodness alone may not eliminate all evil; systemic issues persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-light-1472936/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Goodness Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness-absence-1472938/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Pushes Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushes-darkness-1472937/) ## Related quotes > [I am not inspired by the heights that I have climbed or still have to climb, but by the depths from which I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trinity-chasara/i-am-not-inspired-by-the-heights-that-i-have-climbed-or-still-have-to/) [Trinity Chasara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trinity-chasara/) > [“Goodness is not the absence of badness. You can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-badness-you-can-do-nothing-wrong-and/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [There is a power now slumbering within us, which is awakened would do to evil what light does to darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/there-is-a-power-now-slumbering-within-us-which-is-awakened-would-do/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“An evil light sparked in his eyes. "You could always go for Plan B." "Pound everyone to a bloody pulp until they shut up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/an-evil-light-sparked-in-his-eyes-you-could-always-go-for-plan-b/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [The mere lapse of years is not life. To eat, to drink, and sleep; to be exposed to darkness and the light; to pace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-martineau/the-mere-lapse-of-years-is-not-life-to-eat-to-drink-and-sleep-to-be/) [James Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-martineau/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [By experience; by a sense of human frailty; by a perception of "the soul of goodness in things evil;" by a cheerful trust in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/by-experience-by-a-sense-of-human-frailty-by-a-perception-of-the-soul/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [One does evil enough when one does nothing good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/german-proverb/one-does-evil-enough-when-one-does-nothing-good/) [German Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/german-proverb/) > [Only evil grows of itself, while for goodness we want effort and courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/only-evil-grows-of-itself-while-for-goodness-we-want-effort-and/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [“It must be that evil had its own attractions, just as goodness did. 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And just as true goodness produces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/i-do-think-there-is-evil-but-it-is-very-rare-it-is-as-rare-as-true/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [It's a great responsibility before God, the judge who guides us, who draws us to truth and good, and in this sense the church…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/it-s-a-great-responsibility-before-god-the-judge-who-guides-us-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [He had the unlucky capacity many men have of seeing and believing in the possibility of goodness and truth, but of seeing the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-had-the-unlucky-capacity-many-men-have-of-seeing-and-believing-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Why was is that the Light acted through lies, and the Darkness acted though the truth? Why was is that our truth proved powerless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-lukyanenko/why-was-is-that-the-light-acted-through-lies-and-the-darkness-acted/) [Sergei Lukyanenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-lukyanenko/) ## More by John Geddes > [“...those others - they're looking for trends - subjects to catch a spark - but I have you - a coal from God's altar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/those-others-they-re-looking-for-trends-subjects-to-catch-a-spark-but/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...careful the morning lest it wake from slumber the city half-encumbered by the morning mist ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/careful-the-morning-lest-it-wake-from-slumber-the-city-half/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...I've decided ... love is an eternity of slow motion replays ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/i-ve-decided-love-is-an-eternity-of-slow-motion-replays/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“... my early writing was a silent fury - at what or whom, I had no idea - but I shut it in until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/my-early-writing-was-a-silent-fury-at-what-or-whom-i-had-no-idea-but/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...little children adore me - I'm a Troll Tamer and they know it!...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/little-children-adore-me-i-m-a-troll-tamer-and-they-know-it/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...all this time I've been worshiping you - when other men wanted to kiss you, I've been offering the praise of my lips...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/all-this-time-i-ve-been-worshiping-you-when-other-men-wanted-to-kiss/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“... the scarlet thread,the red clay from which we were made, runs in tiny streams through all our veins, reminding us of where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-scarlet-thread-the-red-clay-from-which-we-were-made-runs-in-tiny/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...you are not what you seem - you're a Sylph - you leave and the air retains your image - you haunt me...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/you-are-not-what-you-seem-you-re-a-sylph-you-leave-and-the-air/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...God daubs stars into galaxies with fiery paint - the same lacquer he uses upon your lips...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/god-daubs-stars-into-galaxies-with-fiery-paint-the-same-lacquer-he/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...language always occurs in a context - you can speak Elizabethan words, but to speak the language you have to put on the mindset...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/language-always-occurs-in-a-context-you-can-speak-elizabethan-words/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...the feelings that pass between us are deeper than fleshly touches...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-feelings-that-pass-between-us-are-deeper-than-fleshly-touches/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...open the access to your heart and write down what your voice is whispering...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/open-the-access-to-your-heart-and-write-down-what-your-voice-is/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [...true love is an irrevocable act - you can only give your heart away once - after that, you give as much as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/true-love-is-an-irrevocable-act-you-can-only-give-your-heart-away/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“...the strands that connect us are frail, so don't hang great weights on slender wires...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/the-strands-that-connect-us-are-frail-so-don-t-hang-great-weights-on/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [...not even the wind can bring a tear to my eye the way you do...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/not-even-the-wind-can-bring-a-tear-to-my-eye-the-way-you-do/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) [Explore all 301 John Geddes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? 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Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...goodness is not the absence of evil - it's the light that pushes back the darkness...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Geddes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-evil-it-s-the-light-that-pushes-back/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-evil-it-s-the-light-that-pushes-back/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/john-geddes-1052_darkness_goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-evil-it-s_1735751.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/john-geddes-1052_darkness_goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-evil-it-s_1735751.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a6/john-geddes-1052_darkness_goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-evil-it-s_1735751.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...goodness is not the absence of evil - it's the light that pushes back the darkness...” — John Geddes", "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": "John Geddes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...goodness is not the absence of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-evil-it-s-the-light-that-pushes-back/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/goodness-is-not-the-absence-of-evil-it-s-the-light-that-pushes-back/#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 } } ] } ```