--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Evil spawns evil. The first experience of…" description: "\"Evil spawns evil. The first experience of torture gives an understanding of the pleasure in tormenting others.\" — Mikhail Lermontov" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/mikhail-lermontov-9000_evil_evil-spawns-evil-the-first-experience-of_2611945.jpg" --- # Evil spawns evil. The first experience of torture gives an… ![“Evil spawns evil. The first experience of torture gives an understanding of the pleasure in tormenting others.” quote by Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/mikhail-lermontov-9000_evil_evil-spawns-evil-the-first-experience-of_2611945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/mikhail-lermontov-9000_evil_evil-spawns-evil-the-first-experience-of_2611945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/mikhail-lermontov-9000_evil_evil-spawns-evil-the-first-experience-of_2611945.jpg) > “Evil spawns evil. The first experience of torture gives an understanding of the pleasure in tormenting others.” [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Evil breeds evil; experiencing torture reveals the pleasure of tormenting others. **In simple terms:** Evil creates more evil. Key Takeaway Recognize cycles of cruelty. Themes morality violence psychology Mood somber critical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - justice work - conflict resolution - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - Why do victims sometimes become perpetrators? - How can societies prevent this cycle? A Different Perspective Breaking cycles is difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-experience-2037079/) [Evil Spawns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-spawns-2037081/) [Experience Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-torture-1958622/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Spawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spawn/) [Spawns Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spawns-evil-2037080/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [“Evil spawns mayhem while benevolence repairs; doing good comforts the living while prayers are extended to the one who attends to the dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/evil-spawns-mayhem-while-benevolence-repairs-doing-good-comforts-the/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [I've been water-boarded, and I speak from experience, and it's torture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/i-ve-been-water-boarded-and-i-speak-from-experience-and-it-s-torture/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [“It was well said—by Jean Tarrou in The Plague, I think—that attendance at lectures in an unknown language will help to hone one's awareness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-was-well-said-by-jean-tarrou-in-the-plague-i-think-that-attendance/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There's been a lot of experience with torture in history. 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Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) ## More by Mikhail Lermontov > [I love enemies, though not in the Christian way. They amuse me, excite my blood. Being always on one’s guard, catching every glance, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/i-love-enemies-though-not-in-the-christian-way-they-amuse-me-excite/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [In simple hearts the feeling for the beauty and grandeur of nature is a hundred-fold stronger and more vivid than in us, ecstatic composers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/in-simple-hearts-the-feeling-for-the-beauty-and-grandeur-of-nature-is/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [Happiness comes the way the wind blows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/happiness-comes-the-way-the-wind-blows/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [One should never spurn a penitent criminal: in his despair he may become twice as much a criminal as before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/one-should-never-spurn-a-penitent-criminal-in-his-despair-he-may/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [“I have an unfortunate character; whether it is my upbringing that made me like that or God who created me so, I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/i-have-an-unfortunate-character-whether-it-is-my-upbringing-that-made/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [Russian ladies, for the most part, cherish only Platonic love, without mingling any thought of matrimony with it; and Platonic love is exceedingly embarrassing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/russian-ladies-for-the-most-part-cherish-only-platonic-love-without/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [What of it? If I die, I die. It will be no great loss to the world, and I am thoroughly bored with life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/what-of-it-if-i-die-i-die-it-will-be-no-great-loss-to-the-world-and-i/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [“Moja je pusta mladost protekla u borbi sa samim sobom i sa svijetom; bojeći se poruge, pokopao sam svoje najbolje osjećaje na dnu srca;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/moja-je-pusta-mladost-protekla-u-borbi-sa-samim-sobom-i-sa-svijetom/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [I am like a mariner born and bred on board a buccaneer brig whose soul has become so inured to storm and strife that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/i-am-like-a-mariner-born-and-bred-on-board-a-buccaneer-brig-whose/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [“A childish feeling, I admit, but, when we retire from the conventions of society and draw close to nature, we involuntarily become children: each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/a-childish-feeling-i-admit-but-when-we-retire-from-the-conventions-of/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [In people's eyes I readPages of malice and sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/in-people-s-eyes-i-readpages-of-malice-and-sin/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [I was lying, but I wanted to rouse him. I have an inborn urge to contradict; my whole life has been a mere chain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/i-was-lying-but-i-wanted-to-rouse-him-i-have-an-inborn-urge-to/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [“I know a rock in a highland's ravine, On which only eagles might ever be seen, But a black wooden cross o'er a precipice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/i-know-a-rock-in-a-highland-s-ravine-on-which-only-eagles-might-ever/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [“But there is an unbounded pleasure to be had in the possession of a young, newly blossoming soul! It is like a flower, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/but-there-is-an-unbounded-pleasure-to-be-had-in-the-possession-of-a/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [The history of a man's soul, even the pettiest soul, is hardly less interesting and useful than the history of a whole people; especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/the-history-of-a-man-s-soul-even-the-pettiest-soul-is-hardly-less/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) [Explore all 72 Mikhail Lermontov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) ## 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. 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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 spawns evil. 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