--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Evil is one thing. Evil's only…" description: "\"“Evil is one thing. Evil's only subjective. Illegal is another.”\" — William T. Vollmann" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/william-t-vollmann-2100_evil_evil-is-one-thing-evil-s-only-subjective_2682219.png" --- # Evil is one thing. Evil's only subjective. Illegal is… ![“Evil is one thing. Evil's only subjective. Illegal is another.” quote by William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/william-t-vollmann-2100_evil_evil-is-one-thing-evil-s-only-subjective_2682219.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/william-t-vollmann-2100_evil_evil-is-one-thing-evil-s-only-subjective_2682219.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/748/william-t-vollmann-2100_evil_evil-is-one-thing-evil-s-only-subjective_2682219.png) > ““Evil is one thing. Evil's only subjective. Illegal is another.”” [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Evil is subjective, while legality is an objective societal construct; they are distinct concepts. **In simple terms:** Evil is subjective; illegal is objective. Key Takeaway Distinguish moral evil from legal wrongdoing. Themes ethics law subjectivity Mood analytical provocative Type philosophical legal When to use this quote - court cases - personal dilemmas - social policy Key Concepts morality jurisprudence Questions to Reflect On - Is something illegal always immoral? - When does societal law reflect true evil? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex moral‑legal overlaps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Subjective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-subjective-1085908/) [Evil Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-thing-276859/) [Illegal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illegal/) [Subjective Illegal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjective-illegal-2590576/) [Thing Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-evil-236129/) ## Related quotes > [“What's the one thing Evil can never have... and the one thing Good can never do without?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soman-chainani/what-s-the-one-thing-evil-can-never-have-and-the-one-thing-good-can/) [Soman Chainani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soman-chainani/) > [“The word "sin" is just a way for a person not to take responsibility for their "bad" actions; actions that might not necessarily be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menna-anwar/the-word-sin-is-just-a-way-for-a-person-not-to-take-responsibility/) [Menna Anwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menna-anwar/) > [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/) > [I'd have to say, and I think that most Christians would hold the view, that there is such a thing as evil, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hollingworth/i-d-have-to-say-and-i-think-that-most-christians-would-hold-the-view/) [Peter Hollingworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hollingworth/) > [Rock n' roll was a bad and evil thing. l remember once I was singing a Barry Manilow song, "Mandy," In the back seat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/axl-rose/rock-n-roll-was-a-bad-and-evil-thing-l-remember-once-i-was-singing-a/) [Axl Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/axl-rose/) > [“The real thing about evil… you figure out one side of it - the human side, say - and the eternal side goes into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/the-real-thing-about-evil-you-figure-out-one-side-of-it-the-human/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Not evil. Moronic, which isn't quite the same thing. Evil presupposes a moral decision, intention, and some forethought. A moron or a lout, however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/not-evil-moronic-which-isn-t-quite-the-same-thing-evil-presupposes-a/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“You’re not evil,” he had whispered, those bright, solemn blue eyes staring into me, peeling away every defense. “No one who fights so hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/you-re-not-evil-he-had-whispered-those-bright-solemn-blue-eyes/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [“There's no such thing as evil for its own sake . All evil is motivated - even mine {Lucifer}.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/there-s-no-such-thing-as-evil-for-its-own-sake-all-evil-is-motivated/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“It's said on my world that the only thing evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing." - Will Bradshaw”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-daigle/it-s-said-on-my-world-that-the-only-thing-evil-needs-to-succeed-is/) [Arthur Daigle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-daigle/) > [“And this is the only really startling thing about the evil of the world: not that so much of it exists, but that nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/and-this-is-the-only-really-startling-thing-about-the-evil-of-the/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [“There is no such thing as evil in the world of science. There are only those who discover and are remembered, and those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-c-barrus/there-is-no-such-thing-as-evil-in-the-world-of-science-there-are-only/) [S.C. Barrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-c-barrus/) > [Evil is not only By hurting other's stendind and watching reail bad happning in fornt of us and not doning any thing is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-cruz/evil-is-not-only-by-hurting-other-s-stendind-and-watching-reail-bad/) [Kevin D'cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-d-cruz/) > [“That’s the thing about evil. You don’t need to be it to do it. It doesn’t have to consume all of you. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/that-s-the-thing-about-evil-you-don-t-need-to-be-it-to-do-it-it-doesn/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [The only thing evil can’t stand is forgiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/the-only-thing-evil-can-t-stand-is-forgiveness/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) ## More by William T. Vollmann > [Some friends and I, we went right up there behind the studio and we got on a train, we could tell it was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/some-friends-and-i-we-went-right-up-there-behind-the-studio-and-we/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [I read and write for most of the day, but I do let myself be interrupted by real life. I enjoy going out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-read-and-write-for-most-of-the-day-but-i-do-let-myself-be/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“A treble clef, for example, resembles a Muscovite or Leningrader in a bulky hooded parka. A bass clef bends as simply and painfully as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/a-treble-clef-for-example-resembles-a-muscovite-or-leningrader-in-a/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Oh, ants, my sisters, good old honeydew-seekers! From close up you are sticky and shiny and gristly; and your nymphs have parasitic red mites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/oh-ants-my-sisters-good-old-honeydew-seekers-from-close-up-you-are/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [It will be fun to give some to prostitutes,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/it-will-be-fun-to-give-some-to-prostitutes/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [If I didn't feel that I was doing something or trying to do something for others, then I would have very little excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/if-i-didn-t-feel-that-i-was-doing-something-or-trying-to-do-something/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Just for the hell of it, try to love someone as unlike you as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/just-for-the-hell-of-it-try-to-love-someone-as-unlike-you-as-possible/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“The shortest man, codenamed RIMSKY, said to me that freedom means understanding our place within the laws of history; we are more free when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/the-shortest-man-codenamed-rimsky-said-to-me-that-freedom-means/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“Do you want to know what happiness is? Happiness is the absence of unpleasant information.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/do-you-want-to-know-what-happiness-is-happiness-is-the-absence-of/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [My father hates organized religion, probably because he hates the God who killed his little girl back in 1968. I find religions variously bemusing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/my-father-hates-organized-religion-probably-because-he-hates-the-god/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [There's an Inuit myth about the origin of the human race. There were two brothers, and the younger brother eventually gets changed into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/there-s-an-inuit-myth-about-the-origin-of-the-human-race-there-were/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Don't write for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/don-t-write-for-money/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [I first got really interested in Noh in about 1977. There was an independent bookstore in Bloomington, Indiana where I was going to high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-first-got-really-interested-in-noh-in-about-1977-there-was-an/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“More aid, better directed! Couldn't we all use that? And what if the universe enacts less aid, more poorly directed?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/more-aid-better-directed-couldn-t-we-all-use-that-and-what-if-the/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“whatever fate sends us quickly becomes us, and we grow blind to what we might otherwise have been. And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/whatever-fate-sends-us-quickly-becomes-us-and-we-grow-blind-to-what/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) [Explore all 186 William T. Vollmann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) ## 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. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. 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 is one thing. Evil's only subjective. Illegal is another.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William T. 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