NOT, I’ll not, carrion comfort, Despair, not feast on thee; Not untwist—slack they may be—these last strands of man In me ór, most weary, cry I can no more. I can; Can something, hope, wish day come, not choose not to be.
Gerard Manley HopkinsRead
It’s true that someone will always say that good and evil don’t exist: that is a person who has never had any dealings with real evil. Good is far less convincing than evil, but it’s because their chemical structures are different. Like gold, good is never found in a pure state in nature: it therefore doesn’t seem impressive. It has the unfortunate tendency not to act; it prefers, passively, to be seen.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Good and evil are often perceived differently, with evil appearing more tangible than good.
This quote suggests that the concepts of good and evil are not absolute but are shaped by human experience and perception. Evil stands out more clearly because it often manifests in a direct and impactful way, making it more memorable and convincing than the subtle, less obvious nature of good, which tends to be quieter and less dramatic, reflecting the complexity of human morality.
Themes
GoodEvilMoralityPerceptionHuman Experience
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophy class discussing ethics, this quote could be used to illustrate the complexities of moral judgment.
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