--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without man there would be no evil. But…" description: "\"“Without man there would be no evil. But there was also no good, nothing moral built over the world of fact. Humans were responsible for it all.”\" — Ka..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/karl-marlantes-13122_evil_without-man-there-would-be-no-evil-but-t_2938443.jpg" --- # Without man there would be no evil. But there was also no… ![“Without man there would be no evil. But there was also no good, nothing moral built over the world of fact. Humans were responsible for it all.” quote by Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/karl-marlantes-13122_evil_without-man-there-would-be-no-evil-but-t_2938443.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/karl-marlantes-13122_evil_without-man-there-would-be-no-evil-but-t_2938443.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/karl-marlantes-13122_evil_without-man-there-would-be-no-evil-but-t_2938443.jpg) > ““Without man there would be no evil. But there was also no good, nothing moral built over the world of fact. Humans were responsible for it all.”” [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human agency creates both evil and good; morality arises from human action. **In simple terms:** Humans create good and evil. Key Takeaway Recognize responsibility. Themes morality human nature evil good responsibility Mood serious reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - law - education - leadership Key Concepts ethical philosophy existentialism anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How do you define moral action? - What limits human responsibility? A Different Perspective Moral choices are complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-good-266914/) [Good moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-moral/) [Man Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-evil-386428/) [Matterhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matterhorn-118974/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [I began writing 'Matterhorn' in 1975 and for more than 30 years I kept working on my novel in my spare time, unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/i-began-writing-matterhorn-in-1975-and-for-more-than-30-years-i-kept/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > ['Matterhorn' is my metaphor of the Vietnam War - we built it, we abandoned it, we assaulted it, we lost, and then we abandoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/matterhorn-is-my-metaphor-of-the-vietnam-war-we-built-it-we-abandoned/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [The nature of man is evil; what is good in him is artificial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xunzi/the-nature-of-man-is-evil-what-is-good-in-him-is-artificial/) [Xunzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xunzi/) > [Mathematical study and research are very suggestive of mountaineering. Whymper made several efforts before he climbed the Matterhorn in the 1860's and even then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-j-mordell/mathematical-study-and-research-are-very-suggestive-of-mountaineering/) [Louis J. Mordell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-j-mordell/) > [As a member of an escorted tour, you don't even have to know the Matterhorn isn't a tuba.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-fielding/as-a-member-of-an-escorted-tour-you-don-t-even-have-to-know-the/) [Temple Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-fielding/) > [Climbing's always been a massive hobby of mine up until, kind of, recent times when I've had family, but no, it's been a driving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/climbing-s-always-been-a-massive-hobby-of-mine-up-until-kind-of/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Yeah, I mean, climbing's always been a massive hobby of mine up until, kind of, recent times when I've had family, but no, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/yeah-i-mean-climbing-s-always-been-a-massive-hobby-of-mine-up-until/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [I am afraid if there is anything to be afraid of. A precipice cannot hurt you. Lions and tigers can. The streets of New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-smith-peck/i-am-afraid-if-there-is-anything-to-be-afraid-of-a-precipice-cannot/) [Annie Smith Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-smith-peck/) > [One who claimed what Jesus claimed about himself couldn't be a good moral man or a prophet. That option isn't open to us, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdowell/one-who-claimed-what-jesus-claimed-about-himself-couldn-t-be-a-good/) [Josh McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdowell/) > [I didn't grow up in one of those restrictive Christian households where you couldn't do this or that. We were brought up with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yolanda-adams/i-didn-t-grow-up-in-one-of-those-restrictive-christian-households/) [Yolanda Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yolanda-adams/) > [True liberty is not liberty to do evil as well as good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-winthrop/true-liberty-is-not-liberty-to-do-evil-as-well-as-good/) [John Winthrop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-winthrop/) > [Justice for some people is an evil for others. Good intentions, kindness, and hope will not necessarily make people happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gen-urobuchi/justice-for-some-people-is-an-evil-for-others-good-intentions/) [Gen Urobuchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gen-urobuchi/) > [Humanity is not perfect in any fashion; no more in the case of evil than in that of good. The criminal has his virtues,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-choderlos-de-laclos/humanity-is-not-perfect-in-any-fashion-no-more-in-the-case-of-evil/) [Pierre Choderlos de Laclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-choderlos-de-laclos/) > [“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness. —ISAIAH 5:20”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-cahn/woe-to-those-who-call-evil-good-and-good-evil-who-put-darkness-for/) [Jonathan Cahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-cahn/) > [“- You take evil for good. It's a passing crisis. It's the result of your illness, perhaps. - You do despise me! It's simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/you-take-evil-for-good-it-s-a-passing-crisis-it-s-the-result-of-your/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) ## More by Karl Marlantes > [“Emotion constricted Hawke’s throat. He suddenly understood why the victims of concentration camps had walked quietly to the gas chambers. In the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/emotion-constricted-hawke-s-throat-he-suddenly-understood-why-the/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [Quitting is unthinkable and pain is just weakness leaving the body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/quitting-is-unthinkable-and-pain-is-just-weakness-leaving-the-body/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [I began writing 'Matterhorn' in 1975 and for more than 30 years I kept working on my novel in my spare time, unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/i-began-writing-matterhorn-in-1975-and-for-more-than-30-years-i-kept/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [“We have an idea of what is right or wrong. And we can debate moral issues as ideas. But moral \*standards\* are not ideas;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/we-have-an-idea-of-what-is-right-or-wrong-and-we-can-debate-moral/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [It was all absurd, without reason or meaning. People who didn't know each other were going to kill each other over a hill none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/it-was-all-absurd-without-reason-or-meaning-people-who-didn-t-know/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [Everything is touched by the holy when it is in the presence of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/everything-is-touched-by-the-holy-when-it-is-in-the-presence-of-death/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [In the military I could exercise the power of being automatically respected because of the medals on my chest, not because I had done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/in-the-military-i-could-exercise-the-power-of-being-automatically/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [Once we recognize our shadow's existence we must resist the enticing step of going with its flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/once-we-recognize-our-shadow-s-existence-we-must-resist-the-enticing/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [“Many will argue that there is nothing remotely spiritual in combat. Consider this. Mystical or religious experiences have four common components: constant awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/many-will-argue-that-there-is-nothing-remotely-spiritual-in-combat/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/when-i-first-got-back-from-the-war-i-said-i-m-gonna-write-the-great/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [“But just below the grim tranquility he had learned to display, he cursed with boiling intensity the ambitious men who used him and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/but-just-below-the-grim-tranquility-he-had-learned-to-display-he/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [And I think that it's - the military has actually made improvements, so people are considering post-traumatic stress disorder as, at the least, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/and-i-think-that-it-s-the-military-has-actually-made-improvements-so/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn't over for the veterans, or the family. It's just starting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/when-the-peace-treaty-is-signed-the-war-isn-t-over-for-the-veterans/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > ['Matterhorn' is my metaphor of the Vietnam War - we built it, we abandoned it, we assaulted it, we lost, and then we abandoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/matterhorn-is-my-metaphor-of-the-vietnam-war-we-built-it-we-abandoned/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [Really important books to me are the classics. I try very hard to read them well - you know, especially once I got serious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/really-important-books-to-me-are-the-classics-i-try-very-hard-to-read/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) [Explore all 50 Karl Marlantes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) ## 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": "“Without man there would be no evil. But there was also no good, nothing moral built over the world of fact. 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