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Neutral men are the devil's allies.
Edwin Hubbel Chapin
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Indifference or neutrality in moral matters can contribute to evil.

This quote suggests that individuals who choose to remain neutral or indifferent in the face of wrongdoing inadvertently support the perpetuation of evil. By not taking a stand or speaking out against injustice, these 'neutral men' become complicit, acting as allies to those who commit morally reprehensible acts. The implication is that moral courage is essential to combat evil and uphold justice.

Themes

NeutralityEvilMoral CourageComplicityIndifference

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion on social justice, this quote can emphasize the importance of taking a stand.

More from Edwin Hubbel Chapin

Through every rift of discovery some seeming anomaly drops out of the darkness, and falls, as a golden link into the great chain of order.
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Do not ask if a man has been through college; ask if a college has been through him; if he is a walking university.
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Goodness consists not in the outward things we do, but in the inward thing we are.
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Tomorrow may never come to us. We do not live in tomorrow. We cannot find it in any of our title-deeds. The man who owns whole blocks of real estate, and great ships on the sea, does not own a single minute of tomorrow. Tomorrow! It is a mysterious possibility, not yet born. It lies under the seal of midnight-behind the veil of glittering constellations.
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A true man never frets about his place in the world, but just slides into it by the gravitation of his nature, and swings there as easily as a star.
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