--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pay bad people with your goodness; fight…" description: "\"“Pay bad people with your goodness; fight their hatred with your kindness. Even if you do not achieve victory over other people, you will conquer yours..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/leo-tolstoy-55_bad-people_pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight_2644839.png" --- # Pay bad people with your goodness; fight their hatred with… ![“Pay bad people with your goodness; fight their hatred with your kindness. Even if you do not achieve victory over other people, you will conquer yourself. —HENRI AMIEL” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/leo-tolstoy-55_bad-people_pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight_2644839.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/leo-tolstoy-55_bad-people_pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight_2644839.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/leo-tolstoy-55_bad-people_pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight_2644839.png) > ““Pay bad people with your goodness; fight their hatred with your kindness. Even if you do not achieve victory over other people, you will conquer yourself. —HENRI AMIEL”” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Respond to hostility with kindness; even without external victory, you achieve inner triumph. **In simple terms:** Kindness conquers self. Key Takeaway Practice kindness despite opposition. Themes kindness resilience self‑mastery Mood compassionate steady Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - conflict resolution - personal development - social activism Key Concepts ethics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you maintain kindness under attack? - What inner victories matter most? A Different Perspective Kindness may be exploited by aggressors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-people/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) ## Related quotes > [Pay bad people with your goodness; fight their hatred with your kindness. Even if you do not achieve a victory over other people, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight-their-hatred-with-your/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [There are two aspect of life. One is evil.Protect yourself from self destructive evil like anger, jealousy,arrogance, false pride, self pity & ego. Another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/there-are-two-aspect-of-life-one-is-evil-protect-yourself-from-self/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [None of us offers resistance when he is seized, or avenges himself for your unjust violence, although our people are numerous and plentiful...it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyprian/none-of-us-offers-resistance-when-he-is-seized-or-avenges-himself-for/) [Cyprian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyprian/) > [If one judges love according to the greatest part of the effects it produces, it would appear to resemble rather hatred than kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/if-one-judges-love-according-to-the-greatest-part-of-the-effects-it/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Prejudice is a seeping, dark stain, I think, more difficult to fight than hatred-which is powerful and violent and somehow more honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-lawrence/prejudice-is-a-seeping-dark-stain-i-think-more-difficult-to-fight/) [Josephine Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-lawrence/) > [There are not 'many sides' in the fight against hatred and bigotry. There is only right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-pritzker/there-are-not-many-sides-in-the-fight-against-hatred-and-bigotry/) [J. B. Pritzker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-pritzker/) > [“You can't fight hatred with hatred and expect anyone to listen to you. You can only try to lessen it with humor, wit, truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/you-can-t-fight-hatred-with-hatred-and-expect-anyone-to-listen-to-you/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [If you dare to fight against hatred, There is but one weapon: Love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/if-you-dare-to-fight-against-hatred-there-is-but-one-weapon-love/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [lf you ever dare to fight against hatred, then there is but one weapon: Love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/lf-you-ever-dare-to-fight-against-hatred-then-there-is-but-one-weapon/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [To help people believe they can achieve victory, put them in a position to experience small successes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/to-help-people-believe-they-can-achieve-victory-put-them-in-a/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [The Soviet Union did not achieve victory over the West, so was my information inadequate to help them to victory, or did it play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/the-soviet-union-did-not-achieve-victory-over-the-west-so-was-my/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [“It's not about the taking part. It's about the winning. It's about the hours you sacrifice in order to achieve your victory, and only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-alejandro-fearnhead/it-s-not-about-the-taking-part-it-s-about-the-winning-it-s-about-the/) [David Alejandro Fearnhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-alejandro-fearnhead/) > [I want to see my party achieve victory based on what we have to offer this country and our ability to offer it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/i-want-to-see-my-party-achieve-victory-based-on-what-we-have-to-offer/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [“Those who are able to adapt and change in accord with the enemy and achieve victory are called divine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/those-who-are-able-to-adapt-and-change-in-accord-with-the-enemy-and/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. Selfish, vain, stupid, trivial in everything—that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-only-knew-what-those-society-women-are-and-women-in-general-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To speak of it would be giving importance to that which has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-speak-of-it-would-be-giving-importance-to-that-which-has-none/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More Bad people quotes > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [“Any discussion of money and success would be lacking if I did not state that money is neither good nor bad. In the hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-stovall/any-discussion-of-money-and-success-would-be-lacking-if-i-did-not/) [Jim Stovall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-stovall/) > [When people walk away from you, let them go. You're destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you, and it doesn't mean they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-walk-away-from-you-let-them-go-you-re-destiny-is-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you have the ability and the opportunity to help someone, but you don't do anything just because you're scared or it's inconvenient or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-despain/if-you-have-the-ability-and-the-opportunity-to-help-someone-but-you/) [Bree Despain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-despain/) > [Really bad people around the world, because of the genius of American innovation, use our products and infrastructure for their emails, for their communications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/really-bad-people-around-the-world-because-of-the-genius-of-american/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [“If you sought to leave the world, don’t go alone. Since there are too many bad people you can take them too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-you-sought-to-leave-the-world-don-t-go-alone-since-there-are-too/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“To feel someone’s life drain from their body by your hands . . . bad, bad people who need to be plucked from this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/to-feel-someone-s-life-drain-from-their-body-by-your-hands-bad-bad/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [“I just can't get with this idea that literature is a 12-step program. If someone wants to read a book to see good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-just-can-t-get-with-this-idea-that-literature-is-a-12-step-program/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Deterrents properly placed can help. But that is not enough. We are one society, and as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/deterrents-properly-placed-can-help-but-that-is-not-enough-we-are-one/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [“Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/plato-argued-that-good-people-do-not-need-laws-to-tell-them-to-act/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [Too bad all the people who know how to run this country are busy running taxicabs or cutting hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/too-bad-all-the-people-who-know-how-to-run-this-country-are-busy/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [“was my first indication that the policies of Mamaw’s “party of the working man”—the Democrats—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Political scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/was-my-first-indication-that-the-policies-of-mamaw-s-party-of-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [The truth is that Africa is like everywhere else. There are poor areas, there are rich areas, there is a middle class. Some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/the-truth-is-that-africa-is-like-everywhere-else-there-are-poor-areas/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [I'm a very placid human being. I don't want to kill anyone. I guess I have played a lot of bad people in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mays/i-m-a-very-placid-human-being-i-don-t-want-to-kill-anyone-i-guess-i/) [Daniel Mays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mays/) > [We do not come to God as bad people trying to become good people; we come as rebels to lay down our arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-do-not-come-to-god-as-bad-people-trying-to-become-good-people-we/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Browse all 703 Bad people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Pay bad people with your goodness; fight their hatred with your kindness. Even if you do not achieve victory over other people, you will conquer yourself. —HENRI AMIEL”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Tolstoy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight-their-hatred-with-your-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad people" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight-their-hatred-with-your-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/leo-tolstoy-55_bad-people_pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight_2644839.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/leo-tolstoy-55_bad-people_pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight_2644839.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/996/leo-tolstoy-55_bad-people_pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight_2644839.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Pay bad people with your goodness; fight their hatred with your kindness. Even if you do not achieve victory…” — Leo Tolstoy", "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": "Leo Tolstoy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Pay bad people with your goodness;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight-their-hatred-with-your-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/pay-bad-people-with-your-goodness-fight-their-hatred-with-your-2/#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 } } ] } ```