--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Captivity is the greatest of all evils…" description: "\"Captivity is the greatest of all evils that can befall one.\" — Miguel de Cervantes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/396/miguel-de-cervantes-715_be-a-slave_captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-t_1713128.png" --- # Captivity is the greatest of all evils that can befall one. ![“Captivity is the greatest of all evils that can befall one.” quote by Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/396/miguel-de-cervantes-715_be-a-slave_captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-t_1713128.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/396/miguel-de-cervantes-715_be-a-slave_captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-t_1713128.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/396/miguel-de-cervantes-715_be-a-slave_captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-t_1713128.png) > “Captivity is the greatest of all evils that can befall one.” [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. States that captivity is the worst evil one can experience, emphasizing loss of freedom. **In simple terms:** Captivity is the greatest evil. Key Takeaway Value and protect freedom. Themes freedom oppression human rights Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - prison life - human trafficking - political oppression - personal isolation Key Concepts psychological confinement physical imprisonment Questions to Reflect On - How does mental captivity affect us? - What can we do to prevent oppression? A Different Perspective Freedom can be compromised even without physical walls. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Captivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captivity/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [Liberty is one of the most precious gifts which heaven has bestowed on man; with it we cannot compare the treasures which the earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/liberty-is-one-of-the-most-precious-gifts-which-heaven-has-bestowed/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [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/) > [“Evils that befall the world are not nearly so often caused by bad men as they are by good men who are silent when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/evils-that-befall-the-world-are-not-nearly-so-often-caused-by-bad-men/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [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/) > [“The answer to the problem of evil does not lie in trying to establish its point of origin, for that is simply not revealed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-r-trueman-2/the-answer-to-the-problem-of-evil-does-not-lie-in-trying-to-establish/) Carl R. Trueman > [War being the greatest of evils, all its accessories necessarily partake of the same character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/war-being-the-greatest-of-evils-all-its-accessories-necessarily/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [To do injustice is the greatest of all evils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/to-do-injustice-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [The greatest evils of society are goods that have refused to go on, but have sat down on the highway, saying to the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-ward-howe/the-greatest-evils-of-society-are-goods-that-have-refused-to-go-on/) [Julia Ward Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-ward-howe/) > [The greatest of all evils is a weak government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-greatest-of-all-evils-is-a-weak-government/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [People with the purest souls are capable of the greatest evils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-with-the-purest-souls-are-capable-of-the-greatest-evils/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our greatest evils flow from ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/our-greatest-evils-flow-from-ourselves/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Most of the greatest evils that man has inflicted upon man have come through people feeling quite certain about something which, in fact, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/most-of-the-greatest-evils-that-man-has-inflicted-upon-man-have-come/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The greatest evils, are from within us; and from ourselves also we must look for the greatest good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-taylor/the-greatest-evils-are-from-within-us-and-from-ourselves-also-we-must/) [Jeremy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-taylor/) > [To do wrong is the greatest of evils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/to-do-wrong-is-the-greatest-of-evils/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [The Greatest evils inflicted by man over the face of the Earth are wrought not by the self-seekers, the pleasure lovers, or the merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morrison-maciver/the-greatest-evils-inflicted-by-man-over-the-face-of-the-earth-are/) [Robert Morrison MacIver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morrison-maciver/) ## More by Miguel de Cervantes > [Beware, gentle knight - the greatest monster of them all is reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/beware-gentle-knight-the-greatest-monster-of-them-all-is-reason/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [He had a face like a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/he-had-a-face-like-a-blessing/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/it-is-one-thing-to-praise-discipline-and-another-to-submit-to-it/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Those who'll play with cats must expect to be scratched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/those-who-ll-play-with-cats-must-expect-to-be-scratched/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [“So it appears to me, for when he could and should have wielded his pen to praise the virtues of so good a knight,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/so-it-appears-to-me-for-when-he-could-and-should-have-wielded-his-pen/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [“Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/too-much-sanity-may-be-madness-and-maddest-of-all-to-see-life-as-it/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Old, that's an affront no woman can well bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/old-that-s-an-affront-no-woman-can-well-bear/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [One should not talk of hatters in the house of the hanged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/one-should-not-talk-of-hatters-in-the-house-of-the-hanged/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [It is courage that vanquishes in war, and not good weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/it-is-courage-that-vanquishes-in-war-and-not-good-weapons/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Alas! all music jars when the soul's out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/alas-all-music-jars-when-the-soul-s-out-of-tune/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [I follow a more easy, and, in my opinion, a wiser course, namely--to inveigh against the levity of the female sex, their fickleness, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/i-follow-a-more-easy-and-in-my-opinion-a-wiser-course-namely-to/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Every man is as heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/every-man-is-as-heaven-made-him-and-sometimes-a-great-deal-worse/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Great people create great acts of kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/great-people-create-great-acts-of-kindness/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [One day, in the San Francisco walk, he came upon some badly painted figures and observed that good painters imitate nature but bad ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/one-day-in-the-san-francisco-walk-he-came-upon-some-badly-painted/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [Drink moderately, for drunkeness neither keeps a secret, nor observes a promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/drink-moderately-for-drunkeness-neither-keeps-a-secret-nor-observes-a/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) [Explore all 386 Miguel de Cervantes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) ## More Be a slave quotes > [“Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. We were slaves of the English, now we will be slaves of the educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/freedom-is-for-the-educated-people-who-fought-for-it-we-were-slaves/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [Neither should men study war with a view to the enslavement of those who do not deserve to be enslaved; but first of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/neither-should-men-study-war-with-a-view-to-the-enslavement-of-those/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Once a man has tasted freedom he will never be content to be a slave. That is why I believe that this frightfulness we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-a-man-has-tasted-freedom-he-will-never-be-content-to-be-a-slave/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/knowledge-makes-a-man-unfit-to-be-a-slave/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/abraham-lincoln-recognized-that-we-could-not-survive-as-a-free-land/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [If you're not confident in the authority of the Scriptures, you will be a slave to what sounds right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/if-you-re-not-confident-in-the-authority-of-the-scriptures-you-will/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [Christ preaches only servitude and dependence... True Christians are made to be slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/christ-preaches-only-servitude-and-dependence-true-christians-are/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-giving-freedom-to-the-slave-we-assure-freedom-to-the-free/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Everyone wants a happy life without difficulties or suffering. We create many of the problems we face. No one intentionally creates problems, but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/everyone-wants-a-happy-life-without-difficulties-or-suffering-we/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Unless you have found something in life to live for that is more important to you than your own life, you will always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/unless-you-have-found-something-in-life-to-live-for-that-is-more/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [People allow themselves to be slaves of their bad habits and society's bad habits - but they have free will, and if they wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/people-allow-themselves-to-be-slaves-of-their-bad-habits-and-society/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended African-Americans should be encouraged - or required, in some people's view - required to leave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/colonization-was-the-idea-that-once-slavery-ended-african-americans/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [The Grecians and Romans were strongly possessed of the spirit of liberty but not the principle, for at the time they were determined not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-grecians-and-romans-were-strongly-possessed-of-the-spirit-of/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Every lord's mansion stands on the foundation of your bones, soldier, every field has been saturated with your sweat, and you, peasant, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wladyslaw-stanislaw-reymont/every-lord-s-mansion-stands-on-the-foundation-of-your-bones-soldier/) [Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wladyslaw-stanislaw-reymont/) > [I decided I didn't want to be a slave to any passion any more except for my work, i had too many passions -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-sharif/i-decided-i-didn-t-want-to-be-a-slave-to-any-passion-any-more-except/) [Omar Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-sharif/) Browse all 130 Be a slave quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Captivity is the greatest of all evils that can befall one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Miguel de Cervantes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-that-can-befall-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be a slave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-that-can-befall-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/396/miguel-de-cervantes-715_be-a-slave_captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-t_1713128.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/396/miguel-de-cervantes-715_be-a-slave_captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-t_1713128.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/396/miguel-de-cervantes-715_be-a-slave_captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-t_1713128.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Captivity is the greatest of all evils that can befall one.” — Miguel de Cervantes", "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": "Miguel de Cervantes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Captivity is the greatest of all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-that-can-befall-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/captivity-is-the-greatest-of-all-evils-that-can-befall-one/#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 } } ] } ```