--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No matter how daring or cautious you may…" description: "\"No matter how daring or cautious you may choose to be, in the course of your life, you are bound to come into direct physical contact with what's known..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/joseph-brodsky-1225_control_no-matter-how-daring-or-cautious-you-may_3184693.png" --- # No matter how daring or cautious you may choose to be, in… ![“No matter how daring or cautious you may choose to be, in the course of your life, you are bound to come into direct physical contact with what's known as Evil. I mean here not a property of the gothic novel but, to say the least, a palpable social reality that you in no way can control.” quote by Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/joseph-brodsky-1225_control_no-matter-how-daring-or-cautious-you-may_3184693.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/joseph-brodsky-1225_control_no-matter-how-daring-or-cautious-you-may_3184693.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/joseph-brodsky-1225_control_no-matter-how-daring-or-cautious-you-may_3184693.png) > “No matter how daring or cautious you may choose to be, in the course of your life, you are bound to come into direct physical contact with what's known as Evil. I mean here not a property of the gothic novel but, to say the least, a palpable social reality that you in no way can control.” [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life inevitably brings direct encounters with evil, a tangible social reality beyond literary tropes, beyond cannot be fully controlled. **In simple terms:** Evil is an unavoidable social reality. Key Takeaway Prepare to confront societal evil responsibly. Themes evil reality control society Mood somber urgent Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - political activism - community work - personal safety - education Key Concepts moral philosophy social dynamics human nature Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when faced with systemic evil? - What personal actions can counteract social injustice? A Different Perspective Evil may be mitigated but not eliminated; awareness is key. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Daring Cautious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daring-cautious-5848975/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Gothic Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gothic-novel-213837/) [Known Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known-evil-2968249/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Matter Daring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-daring-5848976/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [The best known evil is the most tolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/livy/the-best-known-evil-is-the-most-tolerable/) [Livy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/livy/) > [“And it occurred to me how even pulling trees that day, just months ago, I was in heaven. Unaware. I had known nothing even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/and-it-occurred-to-me-how-even-pulling-trees-that-day-just-months-ago/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [Keep what you have; the known evil is best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-what-you-have-the-known-evil-is-best/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The oldest and best known evil was ever more supportable than one that was new and untried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-oldest-and-best-known-evil-was-ever-more-supportable-than-one/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [ Keep what you have got; the known evil is best. \[Lat., Habeas ut nactus; nota mala res optima est.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/keep-what-you-have-got-the-known-evil-is-best-lat-habeas-ut-nactus/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [I don't really begin with ideas about genre. 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To a part of speech”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/what-gets-left-of-a-man-amounts-to-a-part-to-his-spoken-part-to-a/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“secrecy is a hotbed of vanity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/secrecy-is-a-hotbed-of-vanity/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“The instinctive preference was to read rather than to act. No wonder our actual lives were more or less a shambles”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/the-instinctive-preference-was-to-read-rather-than-to-act-no-wonder/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Americans have been tremendously fortunate in poetry, regarding both the quantity and quality of poetry produced. Unfortunately, it remains in schools and universities; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/americans-have-been-tremendously-fortunate-in-poetry-regarding-both/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Life—the way it really is—is a battle not between good and bad, but between bad and worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/life-the-way-it-really-is-is-a-battle-not-between-good-and-bad-but/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Poems, novels - these things belong to the nation, to the culture, and the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/poems-novels-these-things-belong-to-the-nation-to-the-culture-and-the/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“If there is any substitute for love, it is memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/if-there-is-any-substitute-for-love-it-is-memory/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) [Explore all 264 Joseph Brodsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) ## More Control quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“You can't control who loves you...you can't let someone love you anymore than you can make someone love you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/you-can-t-control-who-loves-you-you-can-t-let-someone-love-you/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [I thought I fought a really good Orlando Salido. I never let him get into his fight. I knew what I needed to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikey-garcia/i-thought-i-fought-a-really-good-orlando-salido-i-never-let-him-get/) [Mikey Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikey-garcia/) > [Don't think you can...know you can! You human body is the most impressive tool you'll ever own. Even if you can't control everything, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hardy/don-t-think-you-can-know-you-can-you-human-body-is-the-most/) [Jeff Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hardy/) > [If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/if-you-have-everything-under-control-you-re-not-moving-fast-enough/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [“Without time management, you lose control of your life and do what other people tell you to do. You lose control and become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-miller/without-time-management-you-lose-control-of-your-life-and-do-what/) [Thomas Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-miller/) > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [Many of us rely on our own illusion of control. But when God makes it known to you that you're not the one steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/many-of-us-rely-on-our-own-illusion-of-control-but-when-god-makes-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [In Congress, Florida Republicans worked with the Trump administration to secure funding for coastal restoration projects following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/in-congress-florida-republicans-worked-with-the-trump-administration/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [“He who can destroy a thing has the real control of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/he-who-can-destroy-a-thing-has-the-real-control-of-it/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/sometimes-you-have-to-laugh-to-keep-from-crying-or-getting-overly/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [My sister-in-law works for a group that supports orphanages in Cairo. 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Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 6,032 Control quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No matter how daring or cautious you may choose to be, in the course of your life, you are bound to come into direct physical contact with what's known as Evil. 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