--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: evil' is after all a relative term: there…" description: "\"“evil' is after all a relative term: there being a minor and pragmatical sort, to be disposed of as one swats a fly, and a vast, all-encompassing, one ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/joyce-carol-oates-344_evil_evil-is-after-all-a-relative-term-there_1189661.png" --- # evil' is after all a relative term: there being a minor… ![“evil' is after all a relative term: there being a minor and pragmatical sort, to be disposed of as one swats a fly, and a vast, all-encompassing, one might say universal sort, that must be halted by any means at hand.” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/joyce-carol-oates-344_evil_evil-is-after-all-a-relative-term-there_1189661.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/joyce-carol-oates-344_evil_evil-is-after-all-a-relative-term-there_1189661.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/joyce-carol-oates-344_evil_evil-is-after-all-a-relative-term-there_1189661.png) > ““evil' is after all a relative term: there being a minor and pragmatical sort, to be disposed of as one swats a fly, and a vast, all-encompassing, one might say universal sort, that must be halted by any means at hand.”” [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Evil can be trivial or overwhelming; both require active resistance, regardless of scale. **In simple terms:** Both small and huge evils must be stopped. Key Takeaway Act against wrongdoing, big or small. Themes morality resistance scale Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - daily life - political decisions - personal relationships Key Concepts ethical vigilance human nature Questions to Reflect On - What “evil” do you ignore? - How can you confront both levels? A Different Perspective Focusing on minor evils may distract from larger threats. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Relative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-relative-2489682/) [Pragmatical Sort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pragmatical-sort-3525202/) [Say Universal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-universal-1459155/) [The-accursed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-accursed-185415/) [Universal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal/) [Universal Sort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal-sort-3525201/) ## Related quotes > [“No amount of denials, protestations, or defenses seemed to make any difference, in what is called the 'court' of public opinion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/no-amount-of-denials-protestations-or-defenses-seemed-to-make-any/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“It is no more malicious, and surely no more unnatural than the act of introducing the male black widow spider to the female of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/it-is-no-more-malicious-and-surely-no-more-unnatural-than-the-act-of/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Gossip - invented to injure feelings rather than illuminate the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/gossip-invented-to-injure-feelings-rather-than-illuminate-the-truth/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Faith' and 'science' inhabit totally different spheres, and do not overlap, even to share the same vocabulary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/faith-and-science-inhabit-totally-different-spheres-and-do-not/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Darwin- I think the theory is: out of 'chaos' arises something that resembles 'design'. But it's all random.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/darwin-i-think-the-theory-is-out-of-chaos-arises-something-that/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I think when I say universal, it means making a project that everybody can enjoy but also a project where they're getting closer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario/i-think-when-i-say-universal-it-means-making-a-project-that-everybody/) [Mario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario/) > [The mysteries of the female sex! We men can never hope to fathom your depths, but only try not to drown in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-mysteries-of-the-female-sex-we-men-can-never-hope-to-fathom-your/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [There is no such thing as evil. Only relative degrees of good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meher-baba/there-is-no-such-thing-as-evil-only-relative-degrees-of-good/) [Meher Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meher-baba/) > [I think evil is very relative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/i-think-evil-is-very-relative/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [Evil is relative…You can’t hang a sign on it. You can’t touch it or taste it or cut it with a sword. Evil depends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-cook/evil-is-relative-you-can-t-hang-a-sign-on-it-you-can-t-touch-it-or/) [Glen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-cook/) > [LEGO is universal. So many people enjoy it, from all different walks of life, all different ages, all different cultures. When I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-sawaya/lego-is-universal-so-many-people-enjoy-it-from-all-different-walks-of/) [Nathan Sawaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-sawaya/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oates > [“A woman who has lost her husband is invalid, thus an invalid. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-woman-who-has-lost-her-husband-is-invalid-thus-an-invalid-in/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You need so much energy and encouragement to write that if someone says something negative, some of that energy goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-need-so-much-energy-and-encouragement-to-write-that-if-someone/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I learned long ago that being Lewis Carroll was infinitely more exciting than being Alice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-learned-long-ago-that-being-lewis-carroll-was-infinitely-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/paradox-how-do-we-know-what-we-have-failed-to-see-because-we-have-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-writer-s-life-is-in-his-work-and-that-is-the-place-to-find-him/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The challenge is to resist circumstances. Any idiot can be happy in a happy place, but moral courage is required to be happy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-challenge-is-to-resist-circumstances-any-idiot-can-be-happy-in-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did you know, Marianne: how by breaking the code that day, you broke it forever? For us all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/did-you-know-marianne-how-by-breaking-the-code-that-day-you-broke-it/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > ['The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-accursed-is-very-much-a-novel-about-social-injustice-as-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keep-a-light-hopeful-heart-but-expect-the-worst/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-writer-s-block-exists-really-i-think-that-when-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [... such speculation is like staring into the hot white sun. you know the sun is there but you can't see a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/such-speculation-is-like-staring-into-the-hot-white-sun-you-know-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Explore all 658 Joyce Carol Oates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“evil' is after all a relative term: there being a minor and pragmatical sort, to be disposed of as one swats a fly, and a vast, all-encompassing, one might say universal sort, that must be halted by any means at hand.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joyce Carol Oates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/evil-is-after-all-a-relative-term-there-being-a-minor-and-pragmatical/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/evil-is-after-all-a-relative-term-there-being-a-minor-and-pragmatical/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/joyce-carol-oates-344_evil_evil-is-after-all-a-relative-term-there_1189661.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/joyce-carol-oates-344_evil_evil-is-after-all-a-relative-term-there_1189661.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/joyce-carol-oates-344_evil_evil-is-after-all-a-relative-term-there_1189661.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“evil' is after all a relative term: there being a minor and pragmatical sort, to be disposed of as one swats…” — Joyce Carol Oates", "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": "Joyce Carol Oates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“evil' is after all a relative...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/evil-is-after-all-a-relative-term-there-being-a-minor-and-pragmatical/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/evil-is-after-all-a-relative-term-there-being-a-minor-and-pragmatical/#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 } } ] } ```