--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They could get it,\" Doc said. \"They could…" description: "\"“They could get it,\" Doc said. \"They could ruin their lives and get money. Mack has qualities of genius. They're all very clever if they want something..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/john-steinbeck-71_mack_they-could-get-it-doc-said-they-could-ru_71880.jpg" --- # They could get it," Doc said. "They could ruin their lives… ![“They could get it," Doc said. "They could ruin their lives and get money. Mack has qualities of genius. They're all very clever if they want something. They just know the nature of things too well to be caught in wanting.” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/john-steinbeck-71_mack_they-could-get-it-doc-said-they-could-ru_71880.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/john-steinbeck-71_mack_they-could-get-it-doc-said-they-could-ru_71880.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/john-steinbeck-71_mack_they-could-get-it-doc-said-they-could-ru_71880.jpg) > ““They could get it," Doc said. "They could ruin their lives and get money. Mack has qualities of genius. They're all very clever if they want something. They just know the nature of things too well to be caught in wanting.”” [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A commentary on how intelligence and insight can be weaponized, suggesting that those who understand the world deeply can manipulate outcomes for personal gain, often at the expense of others. **In simple terms:** Intelligence can be a double‑edged sword. Key Takeaway Cleverness can corrupt. Themes Power Morality Intelligence Manipulation Human Nature Mood Cautious Skeptical Reflective Type Observation Critique When to use this quote - Corporate fraud - Political intrigue - Personal ambition - Criminal enterprises Key Concepts Ethics Psychology Socio‑economic dynamics Practical Applications - Risk assessment - Leadership training Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities accompany deep insight? - How does awareness of systemic forces affect ethical choices? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) ## Related quotes > [I intend to work for this dance of the future. I do not know whether I have the necessary qualities; I may have neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/i-intend-to-work-for-this-dance-of-the-future-i-do-not-know-whether-i/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [Imagination and creativity are the qualities of genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/imagination-and-creativity-are-the-qualities-of-genius/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [Um," Doc said in a mild voice, "medically speaking, I'm not sure that was the most helpful thing for his condition." "But I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/um-doc-said-in-a-mild-voice-medically-speaking-i-m-not-sure-that-was/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“I don’t claim to know much: cards, fucking, and dentistry about covers it,” Doc said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/i-don-t-claim-to-know-much-cards-fucking-and-dentistry-about-covers/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [“Aw, hell!" Kyle grumbled. My gaze flickered toward him at the sound of his voice. I could just see his bright eyes around Jared's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/aw-hell-kyle-grumbled-my-gaze-flickered-toward-him-at-the-sound-of/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“We are none of us born into Eden," Doc said reasonably. "world's plenty evil when we get here. Question is, what's the best way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-doria-russell/we-are-none-of-us-born-into-eden-doc-said-reasonably-world-s-plenty/) [Mary Doria Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-doria-russell/) > [My grass stay fresh cut, sticky icky wet stuff, put it in the next dutch, But last time I had a checkup, the doc…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-webby/my-grass-stay-fresh-cut-sticky-icky-wet-stuff-put-it-in-the-next/) [Chris Webby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-webby/) > [“Financial bitterness could not eat too deeply into Mack and the boys, for they were not mercantile men. They did not measure their joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/financial-bitterness-could-not-eat-too-deeply-into-mack-and-the-boys/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“At the end of his life, which had included financial ruin in the Great Depression, his wife's barbiturate addiction and death by overdose, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-vonnegut/at-the-end-of-his-life-which-had-included-financial-ruin-in-the-great/) [Mark Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-vonnegut/) > [Our Father who art in nature, who has given the gift of survival to the coyote, the common brown rat, the English sparrow, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/our-father-who-art-in-nature-who-has-given-the-gift-of-survival-to/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Look at them. There are your true philosophers. I think that Mack and the boys know everything that has ever happened in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/look-at-them-there-are-your-true-philosophers-i-think-that-mack-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [My great-grandfather was a variety hall comedian called Billy Mack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/my-great-grandfather-was-a-variety-hall-comedian-called-billy-mack/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) > [You gotta school these young macks comin' up today... I mean to be 'frank', they just hot dogs, The girls are relish, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-daddy-kane/you-gotta-school-these-young-macks-comin-up-today-i-mean-to-be-frank/) [Big Daddy Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-daddy-kane/) > [I managed the Dodgers for 20 years. It's hard to believe that there are only four guys in the history of baseball who managed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lasorda/i-managed-the-dodgers-for-20-years-it-s-hard-to-believe-that-there/) [Tommy Lasorda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lasorda/) > [Why, oh why, had Jace picked a fight with a pack of wolves? What had possessed him? Then again, it was Jace. He'd pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/why-oh-why-had-jace-picked-a-fight-with-a-pack-of-wolves-what-had/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by John Steinbeck > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/prayer-never-brought-in-no-side-meat-takes-a-shoat-to-bring-in-pork/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“And now submarines are armed with mass murder, our silly, only way of deterring mass murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-submarines-are-armed-with-mass-murder-our-silly-only-way-of/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“You come back a changed man. Samuel, you don’t change him. He changes you. I can see the look of him in your face.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/you-come-back-a-changed-man-samuel-you-don-t-change-him-he-changes/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-find-out-of-long-experience-that-i-admire-all-nations-and-hate-all/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Who in his mind has not probe the dark water?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/who-in-his-mind-has-not-probe-the-dark-water/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [People like you to be something, preferably what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/people-like-you-to-be-something-preferably-what-they-are/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too. He found that he had started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/suddenly-he-knew-joy-and-sorrow-felted-into-one-fabric-courage-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I am writing this from what we Americans call Yurrp. In Yurrp writers are taken as seriously as Lana Turner's legs are in America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-am-writing-this-from-what-we-americans-call-yurrp-in-yurrp-writers/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I write because I like to write. I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words. It is a satisfaction like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-write-because-i-like-to-write-i-find-joy-in-the-texture-and-tone/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Explore all 1,589 John Steinbeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## More Mack quotes > [Why, oh why, had Jace picked a fight with a pack of wolves? What had possessed him? Then again, it was Jace. He'd pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/why-oh-why-had-jace-picked-a-fight-with-a-pack-of-wolves-what-had/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I managed the Dodgers for 20 years. It's hard to believe that there are only four guys in the history of baseball who managed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lasorda/i-managed-the-dodgers-for-20-years-it-s-hard-to-believe-that-there/) [Tommy Lasorda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lasorda/) > [You gotta school these young macks comin' up today... I mean to be 'frank', they just hot dogs, The girls are relish, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-daddy-kane/you-gotta-school-these-young-macks-comin-up-today-i-mean-to-be-frank/) [Big Daddy Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-daddy-kane/) > [My great-grandfather was a variety hall comedian called Billy Mack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/my-great-grandfather-was-a-variety-hall-comedian-called-billy-mack/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) > [“I stole looks. First was her hair, long and loopy and pulled back. Second, she has the prettiest face, oopen-like and up-looking. Third time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-griffin/i-stole-looks-first-was-her-hair-long-and-loopy-and-pulled-back/) Paul Griffin > [Mack Bolan is a classic American hero. Readers like him and I feel very good about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-pendleton/mack-bolan-is-a-classic-american-hero-readers-like-him-and-i-feel/) [Don Pendleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-pendleton/) > [“I’m not stubborn. My way is just always better.” “You know, Mack, some things just go perfectly together, like I told you so and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-james/i-m-not-stubborn-my-way-is-just-always-better-you-know-mack-some/) [Nicole James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-james/) > [You don't look so much like a great hero,' Jarrah said. 'I'm pretty sure I'm not,' Mack said wearily. 'My throat is hoarse from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/you-don-t-look-so-much-like-a-great-hero-jarrah-said-i-m-pretty-sure/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [Look at them. There are your true philosophers. I think that Mack and the boys know everything that has ever happened in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/look-at-them-there-are-your-true-philosophers-i-think-that-mack-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Andie: "Why can't you just let me go?" Mack: "I can't let you go because you're mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-casey/andie-why-can-t-you-just-let-me-go-mack-i-can-t-let-you-go-because/) [Elle Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-casey/) > [I met my wife, Margaret L. Mack, at the University of Chicago. We were married in 1936. She died in 1970.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stigler/i-met-my-wife-margaret-l-mack-at-the-university-of-chicago-we-were/) [George Stigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stigler/) > [“I had zero fear of Mack being the wrong kind of guy to invite up to my room. He totally didn't come off as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-casey/i-had-zero-fear-of-mack-being-the-wrong-kind-of-guy-to-invite-up-to/) [Elle Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-casey/) > [Our Father who art in nature, who has given the gift of survival to the coyote, the common brown rat, the English sparrow, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/our-father-who-art-in-nature-who-has-given-the-gift-of-survival-to/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Taylor gang or mack with biebers voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-tembo/taylor-gang-or-mack-with-biebers-voice/) Tom Tembo > [I was doing about five movies a year for many years. I was just so tired. I walked around feeling like a Mack truck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/i-was-doing-about-five-movies-a-year-for-many-years-i-was-just-so/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) Browse all 64 Mack quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They could get it,\" Doc said. \"They could ruin their lives and get money. Mack has qualities of genius. They're all very clever if they want something. 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