--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Evils that befall the world are not…" description: "\"“Evils that befall the world are not nearly so often caused by bad men as they are by good men who are silent when an opinion must be voiced.”\" — Lawre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/lawrence-schiller-34877_quote_evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-near_1277958.jpg" --- # Evils that befall the world are not nearly so often caused… ![“Evils that befall the world are not nearly so often caused by bad men as they are by good men who are silent when an opinion must be voiced.” quote by Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/lawrence-schiller-34877_quote_evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-near_1277958.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/lawrence-schiller-34877_quote_evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-near_1277958.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/lawrence-schiller-34877_quote_evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-near_1277958.jpg) > ““Evils that befall the world are not nearly so often caused by bad men as they are by good men who are silent when an opinion must be voiced.”” [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence of good people allows evil to spread; speaking up is a moral duty. **In simple terms:** Speak out against wrongdoing. Key Takeaway Raise your voice when justice is at stake. Themes courage justice activism Mood urgent inspirational Type ethical political When to use this quote - public protests - workplace harassment - community advocacy - political discourse Key Concepts ethical responsibility social change Questions to Reflect On - What prevents you from speaking up? - When have you spoken up for a cause? A Different Perspective Speaking out can bring personal risk. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-men/) ## Related quotes > [Among those evils which befall us, there are many which have been more painful to us in the prospect than by their actual pressure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/among-those-evils-which-befall-us-there-are-many-which-have-been-more/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [I used to suppose that certain evils could never befall a being in possession of a sound mind; that true virtue supplies us with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brockden-brown/i-used-to-suppose-that-certain-evils-could-never-befall-a-being-in/) [Charles Brockden Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brockden-brown/) > [Captivity is the greatest of all evils that can befall one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-that-can-befall-one/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [If the gods listened to the prayers of men, all humankind would quickly perish since they constantly pray for many evils to befall one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/if-the-gods-listened-to-the-prayers-of-men-all-humankind-would/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [“Many good men have been bad kings, Maester Aemon used to say, and some bad men have been good kings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/many-good-men-have-been-bad-kings-maester-aemon-used-to-say-and-some/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [I'm not good enough for you. But no one is. And most men, good or bad, have limits to what they would do, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/i-m-not-good-enough-for-you-but-no-one-is-and-most-men-good-or-bad/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [A Few Good Men' and 'As Good As It Gets' were the advent of me taking film seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-walter-hauser/a-few-good-men-and-as-good-as-it-gets-were-the-advent-of-me-taking/) [Paul Walter Hauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-walter-hauser/) > [Good men nowhere, but good boys at Sparta.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes/good-men-nowhere-but-good-boys-at-sparta/) [Diogenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes/) > [Good women are for good men, and good men for good women''](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agam/good-women-are-for-good-men-and-good-men-for-good-women/) Agam > [If you ask: What is the good of education? The answer is easy: Education makes good men and good men act nobly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-you-ask-what-is-the-good-of-education-the-answer-is-easy-education/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Women should treat men as good as men are expected to treat us. It's a two way street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/women-should-treat-men-as-good-as-men-are-expected-to-treat-us-it-s-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know some say, let us have good laws, and no matter for the men that execute them: but let them consider, that though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-henry/i-know-some-say-let-us-have-good-laws-and-no-matter-for-the-men-that/) [Patrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-henry/) > [It is much easier to make good men wise, than to make bad men good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/it-is-much-easier-to-make-good-men-wise-than-to-make-bad-men-good/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [“No great country was ever saved by good men, because good men will not go the lengths that may be necessary. —HORACE WALPOLE,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elia-macneal/no-great-country-was-ever-saved-by-good-men-because-good-men-will-not/) [Susan Elia MacNeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elia-macneal/) > [The Gospel of Jesus Christ can make bad men good and good men better, can alter human nature, and can change human lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/the-gospel-of-jesus-christ-can-make-bad-men-good-and-good-men-better/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) ## More by Lawrence Schiller > [Marilyn was a great actress, not a dumb blond bombshell. She was very smart, very astute and a good businesswoman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/marilyn-was-a-great-actress-not-a-dumb-blond-bombshell-she-was-very/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [I knew Marilyn over a two-year period. I met her first on a movie called 'Let's Make Love.' I photographed her at that time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/i-knew-marilyn-over-a-two-year-period-i-met-her-first-on-a-movie/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [Am I missing something because of my lack of education? Being an intellectual - I'm not. So I hire him as a corner man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/am-i-missing-something-because-of-my-lack-of-education-being-an/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [When you've experienced the real Marilyn, it's difficult to watch a movie about her.' I didn't want to have the memories of my experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/when-you-ve-experienced-the-real-marilyn-it-s-difficult-to-watch-a/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [I don't feel lonely. No no no. I feel like I'm jumping in a well that has no bottom, and at some point I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/i-don-t-feel-lonely-no-no-no-i-feel-like-i-m-jumping-in-a-well-that/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [I've had failures, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't beneath me to pick up the phone and introduce myself to Bernard Malamud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/i-ve-had-failures-don-t-get-me-wrong-but-it-wasn-t-beneath-me-to-pick/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [I never considered myself a good photographer. I still don't. I thought of myself as a hard worker. My camera was a sponge and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/i-never-considered-myself-a-good-photographer-i-still-don-t-i-thought/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [A close friend of mine, Annie Leibovitz, who I've known for forty years, photographs celebrities every single day of the week but they all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/a-close-friend-of-mine-annie-leibovitz-who-i-ve-known-for-forty-years/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [I saw the end of the general magazine business at the end of the '70s, and I knew I had to move into another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/i-saw-the-end-of-the-general-magazine-business-at-the-end-of-the-70s/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [The most important thing you learn as a sports photographer is anticipation - not where the action is taking place, but where it's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/the-most-important-thing-you-learn-as-a-sports-photographer-is/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [“it wasn't uncommon... that such a girl might die young, but this girl had stayed alive long enough to make her mark, to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/it-wasn-t-uncommon-that-such-a-girl-might-die-young-but-this-girl-had/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [You constantly felt like you wanted to protect her and that you wanted to save her and that's what made her attractive more so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/you-constantly-felt-like-you-wanted-to-protect-her-and-that-you/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [ There are major writers who have written books \[based on my research\]. If one looks carefully at the copyright page, you'll see my name.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/there-are-major-writers-who-have-written-books-based-on-my-research/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) [Explore all 14 Lawrence Schiller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) ## More Evils quotes > [The so-called evils are evils only in relation to a certain thing, and that which is evil in relation to a certain existing thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-so-called-evils-are-evils-only-in-relation-to-a-certain-thing-and/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [In the history of man it has been very generally the case that when evils have grown insufferable they have touched the point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/in-the-history-of-man-it-has-been-very-generally-the-case-that-when/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Of all evils of war the greatest is the purely spiritual evil: the hatred, the injustice, the repudiation of truth, the artificial conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/of-all-evils-of-war-the-greatest-is-the-purely-spiritual-evil-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Imaginary evils are incurable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/imaginary-evils-are-incurable/) [Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Of your philosophy you makeno use If you give place to accidental evils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/of-your-philosophy-you-makeno-use-if-you-give-place-to-accidental/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The worst evils which mankind has ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-worst-evils-which-mankind-has-ever-had-to-endure-were-inflicted/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“So then, according to Jesus, the ‘evils’ which we think, say and do are not due primarily to our environment, nor are they bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-w-stott/so-then-according-to-jesus-the-evils-which-we-think-say-and-do-are/) [John R.W. Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-w-stott/) > [“Hope is the worst of evils because it protracts torment.” “Your”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/hope-is-the-worst-of-evils-because-it-protracts-torment-your/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [The only important property of evils of the past is that they not be repeated in the future, in any way, shape, or form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-naggum/the-only-important-property-of-evils-of-the-past-is-that-they-not-be/) [Erik Naggum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-naggum/) > [To repay evils with kindness is the religion I was taught to practise, and this will forever be my rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/to-repay-evils-with-kindness-is-the-religion-i-was-taught-to-practise/) [John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/) > [“The wicked know that if the ill they do be of sufficient horror that men will not speak against it. That men have just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-wicked-know-that-if-the-ill-they-do-be-of-sufficient-horror-that/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [They who talk much of destiny, their birth-star, etc., are in a lower dangerous plane, and invite the evils they fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/they-who-talk-much-of-destiny-their-birth-star-etc-are-in-a-lower/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Trump is literally the epitome of evil, all the evils of this country - be it racism, capitalism, sexism, homophobia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/trump-is-literally-the-epitome-of-evil-all-the-evils-of-this-country/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) > [“If we want truth and justice to rule our global village, there must be no hypocrisy. If there is no truth, then there will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/if-we-want-truth-and-justice-to-rule-our-global-village-there-must-be/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) Browse all 300 Evils quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Evils that befall the world are not nearly so often caused by bad men as they are by good men who are silent when an opinion must be voiced.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lawrence Schiller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-nearly-so-often-caused-by-bad-men/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evils" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-nearly-so-often-caused-by-bad-men/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/lawrence-schiller-34877_quote_evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-near_1277958.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/lawrence-schiller-34877_quote_evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-near_1277958.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bd/lawrence-schiller-34877_quote_evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-near_1277958.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Evils that befall the world are not nearly so often caused by bad men as they are by good men who are silent…” — Lawrence Schiller", "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": "Lawrence Schiller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Evils that befall the world are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-nearly-so-often-caused-by-bad-men/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-nearly-so-often-caused-by-bad-men/#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 } } ] } ```