--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We wonder at good things, are appalled by…" description: "\"“We wonder at good things, are appalled by evil. What's wondering got in common with being appalled? That strange combination, that surprise duet of di..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/robert-grudin-13477_appalled_we-wonder-at-good-things-are-appalled-by_1615735.png" --- # We wonder at good things, are appalled by evil. What's… ![“We wonder at good things, are appalled by evil. What's wondering got in common with being appalled? That strange combination, that surprise duet of disbelief and acknowledgement. You can't believe that any human being would open up with an assault gun in a trolley, but look over there--right…” quote by Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/robert-grudin-13477_appalled_we-wonder-at-good-things-are-appalled-by_1615735.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/robert-grudin-13477_appalled_we-wonder-at-good-things-are-appalled-by_1615735.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/robert-grudin-13477_appalled_we-wonder-at-good-things-are-appalled-by_1615735.png) > ““We wonder at good things, are appalled by evil. What's wondering got in common with being appalled? That strange combination, that surprise duet of disbelief and acknowledgement. You can't believe that any human being would open up with an assault gun in a trolley, but look over there--right there!--there's somebody doing it.”” [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It highlights the paradox of awe for good and horror for evil, showing how disbelief and recognition coexist when confronting extreme violence. **In simple terms:** Good inspires wonder; evil shocks. Key Takeaway Recognize both emotions to understand moral complexity. Themes morality psychology violence disbelief Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - news reporting - public debates - personal moral dilemmas - media coverage Key Concepts cognitive dissonance ethical reflection Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance awe and horror in ethical judgments? - Can recognizing this tension improve societal responses? A Different Perspective Human nature often resists reconciling admiration with revulsion, limiting empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appalled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appalled/) [Appalled Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appalled-evil-6161844/) [Appalled Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appalled-strange-6161846/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Wondering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-wondering-6161845/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Things Appalled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-appalled-688198/) ## Related quotes > [“It was the whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-the-whiteness-of-the-whale-that-above-all-things-appalled-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stripe really did come about because we were really appalled by how hard it was to charge for things online.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-collison/stripe-really-did-come-about-because-we-were-really-appalled-by-how/) [John Collison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-collison/) > [After the events of last week, I'm appalled at the standard Australia seems to be willing to accept in regards to its own behaviour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clementine-ford/after-the-events-of-last-week-i-m-appalled-at-the-standard-australia/) [Clementine Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clementine-ford/) > [If you met me in London, you might be appalled at how English I sounded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pollyanna-mcintosh/if-you-met-me-in-london-you-might-be-appalled-at-how-english-i-sounded/) [Pollyanna McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pollyanna-mcintosh/) > [You have to let kids live their own lives and make their mistakes, but it is difficult now because there are so many things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-french/you-have-to-let-kids-live-their-own-lives-and-make-their-mistakes-but/) [Dawn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-french/) > [“More shouts, and then my father was there, staring down at me in horror: the minor pagan god, appalled at what his worshiper had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/more-shouts-and-then-my-father-was-there-staring-down-at-me-in-horror/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“Because her general taste appalled him, it annoyed him that he himself constituted one of her favorites. It was an anomaly which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/because-her-general-taste-appalled-him-it-annoyed-him-that-he-himself/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [I think we can be reasonably confident that if the American population had the slightest idea of what is being done in their name,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-think-we-can-be-reasonably-confident-that-if-the-american/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I made no pretense of doing balanced reporting about murder. I was appalled by defense attorneys who would do anything to win an acquittal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominick-dunne/i-made-no-pretense-of-doing-balanced-reporting-about-murder-i-was/) [Dominick Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominick-dunne/) > [I have always been appalled by the depiction of female CIA operatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-plame/i-have-always-been-appalled-by-the-depiction-of-female-cia-operatives/) [Valerie Plame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-plame/) > [I went from rotary phone to Twitter. And was appalled at the notion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-perry/i-went-from-rotary-phone-to-twitter-and-was-appalled-at-the-notion/) [Jeff Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-perry/) > [“A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. But that Sunday afternoon, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-month-or-two-before-i-would-have-been-appalled-at-the-idea-of-any/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [When people say 'love to hate', they actually mean 'love to be appalled by' - if they truly hated them, they'd never repeat a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-morris/when-people-say-love-to-hate-they-actually-mean-love-to-be-appalled/) [Chris Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-morris/) > [We are now paying the cost of people who move jobs overseas as taxpayers, and people are appalled when they hear that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/we-are-now-paying-the-cost-of-people-who-move-jobs-overseas-as/) [Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/) > [ I think Gypsy \[Rose Lee\] would be appalled at today's rawer, more blatant displays of the female form. She was, in her own way,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-abbott/i-think-gypsy-rose-lee-would-be-appalled-at-today-s-rawer-more/) [Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-abbott/) ## More by Robert Grudin > [If the estimated age of the cosmos were shortened to seventy-two years, a human life would take about ten seconds. But look at time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/if-the-estimated-age-of-the-cosmos-were-shortened-to-seventy-two/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [Truth is rhythmical: if it implies stasis, it is platitude. Truth is syncopated: if it supplies all the terms, there is one term too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/truth-is-rhythmical-if-it-implies-stasis-it-is-platitude-truth-is/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [“Because we believe that one moment is more or less like the next, we lose touch with the essential urgency of the present, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/because-we-believe-that-one-moment-is-more-or-less-like-the-next-we/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [To be open to inspiration, one must cultivate a leaning for the problematic, a chronic attraction to things that do not totally fit, agree,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/to-be-open-to-inspiration-one-must-cultivate-a-leaning-for-the/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [“...like gravity, beauty is a force whose existence is inferred from its apparent effects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/like-gravity-beauty-is-a-force-whose-existence-is-inferred-from-its/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [Those who labor for bread or money alone are condemned to their reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/those-who-labor-for-bread-or-money-alone-are-condemned-to-their-reward/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [The happy individual is able to renew daily and with full consciousness all the basic expressions of human identity: work, love, communication, play, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/the-happy-individual-is-able-to-renew-daily-and-with-full/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [No psychological message is so open to question as that which tells us that we have nothing left to do or to give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/no-psychological-message-is-so-open-to-question-as-that-which-tells/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [Happiness may well consist primarily of an attitude toward time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/happiness-may-well-consist-primarily-of-an-attitude-toward-time/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [Psychologically time is seldom homogenous but rather is as full of shapes as space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/psychologically-time-is-seldom-homogenous-but-rather-is-as-full-of/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [Individuals we consider happy commonly seem complete in the present and we see them constantly in their wholeness: attentive, cheerful, open rather than closed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/individuals-we-consider-happy-commonly-seem-complete-in-the-present/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [The extent to which we live from day to day, from week to week, intent on details and oblivious to larger presences, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/the-extent-to-which-we-live-from-day-to-day-from-week-to-week-intent/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [Excellence of mind itself, rightly conceived, is expertise in beauty; creativity is wise love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/excellence-of-mind-itself-rightly-conceived-is-expertise-in-beauty/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [True intimacy is a human constant. People of all types find it equally hard to achieve, equally precious to hold. Age, education, social status,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/true-intimacy-is-a-human-constant-people-of-all-types-find-it-equally/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) > [At pains to define liberty, that most resolute of indefinables, our minds fall back on spatial images; on birds, sailboats, and mountains; the untethered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/at-pains-to-define-liberty-that-most-resolute-of-indefinables-our/) [Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) [Explore all 50 Robert Grudin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/) ## More Appalled quotes > [ I think Gypsy \[Rose Lee\] would be appalled at today's rawer, more blatant displays of the female form. She was, in her own way,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-abbott/i-think-gypsy-rose-lee-would-be-appalled-at-today-s-rawer-more/) [Karen Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-abbott/) > [We are now paying the cost of people who move jobs overseas as taxpayers, and people are appalled when they hear that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/we-are-now-paying-the-cost-of-people-who-move-jobs-overseas-as/) [Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/) > [When people say 'love to hate', they actually mean 'love to be appalled by' - if they truly hated them, they'd never repeat a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-morris/when-people-say-love-to-hate-they-actually-mean-love-to-be-appalled/) [Chris Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-morris/) > [“A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. But that Sunday afternoon, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-month-or-two-before-i-would-have-been-appalled-at-the-idea-of-any/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [I went from rotary phone to Twitter. And was appalled at the notion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-perry/i-went-from-rotary-phone-to-twitter-and-was-appalled-at-the-notion/) [Jeff Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-perry/) > [I have always been appalled by the depiction of female CIA operatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-plame/i-have-always-been-appalled-by-the-depiction-of-female-cia-operatives/) [Valerie Plame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-plame/) > [I made no pretense of doing balanced reporting about murder. I was appalled by defense attorneys who would do anything to win an acquittal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominick-dunne/i-made-no-pretense-of-doing-balanced-reporting-about-murder-i-was/) [Dominick Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominick-dunne/) > [I think we can be reasonably confident that if the American population had the slightest idea of what is being done in their name,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-think-we-can-be-reasonably-confident-that-if-the-american/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Because her general taste appalled him, it annoyed him that he himself constituted one of her favorites. It was an anomaly which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/because-her-general-taste-appalled-him-it-annoyed-him-that-he-himself/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“More shouts, and then my father was there, staring down at me in horror: the minor pagan god, appalled at what his worshiper had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/more-shouts-and-then-my-father-was-there-staring-down-at-me-in-horror/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [You have to let kids live their own lives and make their mistakes, but it is difficult now because there are so many things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-french/you-have-to-let-kids-live-their-own-lives-and-make-their-mistakes-but/) [Dawn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-french/) > [If you met me in London, you might be appalled at how English I sounded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pollyanna-mcintosh/if-you-met-me-in-london-you-might-be-appalled-at-how-english-i-sounded/) [Pollyanna McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pollyanna-mcintosh/) > [After the events of last week, I'm appalled at the standard Australia seems to be willing to accept in regards to its own behaviour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clementine-ford/after-the-events-of-last-week-i-m-appalled-at-the-standard-australia/) [Clementine Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clementine-ford/) > [Stripe really did come about because we were really appalled by how hard it was to charge for things online.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-collison/stripe-really-did-come-about-because-we-were-really-appalled-by-how/) [John Collison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-collison/) > [If someone was to tally the number of human hours wasted in business by people trying to accomplish objectives without being given the authority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-beth-jones/if-someone-was-to-tally-the-number-of-human-hours-wasted-in-business/) [Laurie Beth Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-beth-jones/) [Browse all 70 Appalled quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appalled/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We wonder at good things, are appalled by evil. 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