--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fortunately, as human history has shown…" description: "\"“Fortunately, as human history has shown, it is not unusual for good to come of evil, less is said about the evil that can come out of good”\" — Jose Sa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/jos-saramago-208_evil_fortunately-as-human-history-has-shown-i_1805240.png" --- # Fortunately, as human history has shown, it is not unusual… ![“Fortunately, as human history has shown, it is not unusual for good to come of evil, less is said about the evil that can come out of good” quote by Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/jos-saramago-208_evil_fortunately-as-human-history-has-shown-i_1805240.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/jos-saramago-208_evil_fortunately-as-human-history-has-shown-i_1805240.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/jos-saramago-208_evil_fortunately-as-human-history-has-shown-i_1805240.png) > ““Fortunately, as human history has shown, it is not unusual for good to come of evil, less is said about the evil that can come out of good”” [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History shows good can emerge from evil, yet the reverse—evil from good—is rarely discussed. **In simple terms:** Good can arise from evil, but evil from good is overlooked. Key Takeaway Beware unintended harmful outcomes of well‑intentioned actions. Themes ethics history consequences Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - policy making - social reform - personal decisions Key Concepts cause and effect moral ambiguity Questions to Reflect On - How do we evaluate potential negative impacts of positive actions? - What safeguards can prevent good from becoming harmful? A Different Perspective Good intentions can still cause harm if consequences aren't considered. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > [“But not unusual, for good girls sometimes come to bad ends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/but-not-unusual-for-good-girls-sometimes-come-to-bad-ends/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [It's not what enters men's mouth that is evil," said the alchemist. It's what comes out of their mouths that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-s-not-what-enters-men-s-mouth-that-is-evil-said-the-alchemist-it-s/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Pain and pleasure, good and evil, come to us from unexpected sources. 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And you only come out at night?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/oh-i-get-it-i-said-you-re-evil-harry-lurking-inside-good-harry-right/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Aristotle said: "Evil brings men together."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/aristotle-said-evil-brings-men-together/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“It was true then what Padre Jose had said, that there is evil in all of us, that only with faith and its capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/it-was-true-then-what-padre-jose-had-said-that-there-is-evil-in-all/) [F. Sionil José](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/) > [Hey darkness who said you are evil. Your virtue is highlighted by showing my importance to this universe. By LIGHT](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suma/hey-darkness-who-said-you-are-evil-your-virtue-is-highlighted-by/) [Suma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suma/) > [“I never said she was evil. 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But I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/that-was-a-dhlang-he-said-an-evil-spirit-the-peasants-down-in-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You know what mom told me once? She said that everyone has some evil inside them, and the first step to loving anyone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/you-know-what-mom-told-me-once-she-said-that-everyone-has-some-evil/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“Kasha didn't say a word as we ate. She sat with her back to us, staring at a mountain range far in the distance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-j-machale/kasha-didn-t-say-a-word-as-we-ate-she-sat-with-her-back-to-us-staring/) [D.J. MacHale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-j-machale/) > [“Also, the rules of this particular game demanded that it was not enough to say: “So and so disagrees with us, who are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/also-the-rules-of-this-particular-game-demanded-that-it-was-not/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More by Jose Saramago > [“We are born, and at that moment, it is as if we had signed a pact for the rest of our life, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/we-are-born-and-at-that-moment-it-is-as-if-we-had-signed-a-pact-for/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [One can show no greater respect than to weep for a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/one-can-show-no-greater-respect-than-to-weep-for-a-stranger/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I am not a prophet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-am-not-a-prophet/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [With the passage of time, as well as the social evolution and genetic exchange, we ended up putting our conscience in the color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/with-the-passage-of-time-as-well-as-the-social-evolution-and-genetic/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Al día siguiente no murió nadie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/al-d-a-siguiente-no-muri-nadie/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“E se as histórias para crianças passassem a ser de leitura obrigatória para os adultos? Seriam eles capazes de aprender realmente o que há…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/e-se-as-hist-rias-para-crian-as-passassem-a-ser-de-leitura-obrigat/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [In a king, modesty would be a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/in-a-king-modesty-would-be-a-sign-of-weakness/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“the inmates of the second ward in the right wing have decided, at long last, to bury their dead, at least we shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-inmates-of-the-second-ward-in-the-right-wing-have-decided-at-long/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Stretching one arm behind him, the man passed his hand over the horse's coat, his own skin transformed, or skin which had transformed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/stretching-one-arm-behind-him-the-man-passed-his-hand-over-the-horse/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I think we are blind. Blind people who can see, but do not see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-think-we-are-blind-blind-people-who-can-see-but-do-not-see/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [...you have to leave the island in order to see the island, that we can't see ourselves unless we become free of ourselves, Unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/you-have-to-leave-the-island-in-order-to-see-the-island-that-we-can-t/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [anyone who gets up early by inclination or has been forced to rise early out of necessity finds it intolerable that others should go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/anyone-who-gets-up-early-by-inclination-or-has-been-forced-to-rise/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Society has to change, but the political powers we have at the moment are not enough to effect this change. The whole democratic system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/society-has-to-change-but-the-political-powers-we-have-at-the-moment/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“... aborrece os odores nocturnos, aquelas expansões do corpo a que nem poetas escapam".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/aborrece-os-odores-nocturnos-aquelas-expans-es-do-corpo-a-que-nem/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) [Explore all 487 Jose Saramago quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## 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": "“Fortunately, as human history has shown, it is not unusual for good to come of evil, less is said about the evil that can come out of good”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jose Saramago" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/fortunately-as-human-history-has-shown-it-is-not-unusual-for-good-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/fortunately-as-human-history-has-shown-it-is-not-unusual-for-good-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/jos-saramago-208_evil_fortunately-as-human-history-has-shown-i_1805240.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/jos-saramago-208_evil_fortunately-as-human-history-has-shown-i_1805240.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/jos-saramago-208_evil_fortunately-as-human-history-has-shown-i_1805240.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fortunately, as human history has shown, it is not unusual for good to come of evil, less is said about the…” — Jose Saramago", "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": "Jose Saramago", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Fortunately, as human history has shown,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/fortunately-as-human-history-has-shown-it-is-not-unusual-for-good-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/fortunately-as-human-history-has-shown-it-is-not-unusual-for-good-to/#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 } } ] } ```