open/close all folders
Anime and Manga
"One can go too far, at which point, good becomes even worse than evil."
— Sebastian Michaelis, Black Butler
"You think.... I'm evil?! I am Justice! I protect the innocent and those who fear evil! I'll become the God of the new world that everyone desires! All those who oppose that God... they are the ones who are truly evil!"
— Light Yagami, Death Note, just before killing Lind L. Tailor.
"This world is rotten, and those who are making it rot deserve to die. Someone has to do it, so why not me? Even if it means sacrificing my own mind and soul, it's worth it. Because the world can't go on like this."
— Light Yagami, Death Note
"If you choose to withhold your worst criminals, I'll kill petty criminals or the innocent. I'm holding the whole world hostage, so who's it gonna be? I'm not the evil one here. But you who would oppose me by hiding criminals, you are truly evil."
— L explaining Kira's mentality, Death Note
"Evil must be deleted."
— Teru Mikami, Death Note
"I look down on existence from a much higher perspective than you do. I witness this world, this universe and the truth of all things. That yields deeper understanding. Wisdom. The realization that all mortals should be destroyed. The one and only mistake among all divine creations. That is what mortals are. And this mistake is egregious. To shape existence into the beautiful utopia it was always meant to be, the mistake must be corrected. I will purge all mortals from existence. In place of the gods WHO REFUSE TO ADMIT FAILURE!!"
"My heart and actions are utterly unclouded. They are all those of Justice."
"You're the kind of evil that doesn't realize it's evil... the worst kind of evil there is."
"The destiny of Evil is to be annihilated."
— Yuri Petrov a.k.a. Lunatic, Tiger & Bunny
Comic Books
"I will always attempt to do the Right Thing... even it means killing every last man, woman and child in this here town, twice over."
"Soon there will be war. Millions will burn. Millions will perish in sickness and misery. Why does one death matter against so many? Because there is good and there is evil, and evil must be punished. Even in the face of Armageddon, I shall not compromise in this. But there are so many deserving of retribution... and there is so little time."
— Rorschach, Watchmen
"I'm not a bad person. I just have strong beliefs."
— Getaway, The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
"No no, a fine won't do. You'll just go out and loiter again, won't you? No, we've got to look for a more permanent solution. I think I'll sentence you to death, how does that sound?"
— Judge Death, Judge Dredd, Young Death: Boyhood of a Superfiend
"Transform the people! Cleanse the streets! Brothers and sisters! The time has come to save our city!"
Fanfiction
"The HDA has been nothing but a barrier in any efforts to forming peace with you people; they treat all monsters as absolute evils regardless of their nature."
— Moka Akashiya, Rosario Vampire: Brightest Darkness
"You haven't begun to suffer, trust me. That pit of filth that you call your mouth, it will be your undoing. You, Aria Blaze, and your sisters are a cosmic mistake. Have no doubt that I shall soon correct it." Another sinister grin cracked the mage's face as his arms rolled backward, one over the other in a steady rhythm. "But not today. Today, you may consider yourselves fortunate, as temporary a sentiment as that might be."
— Starshot, We Are What We Are
"The Templars have taken the person I care about the most. None of them deserve life while Satin is dead."
— Dewdrops, Leap of Faith
People. Vessels. Miracles. If they exist because of outlaws, they must die.
— Admiral Akainu, This Bites!
"Execute them! It’s for the good of the village, right?!"
—Marchionne Evangelisti, (Mario) The Music Box ARC
"They say that there is no one who isn't salvageable. Repent, for we are all children of God and belong in his grace. You, however, are not. You are not children of God, descended from Adam, crafted from clay of the Mother Earth. You crawled your way out of the rotting flesh of the Titan, an undignified, heretical creature. No amount of repentance or prayer, or conversion to the faith will ever save your souls, if you ever had one to begin with. You were born evil, and you will die evil. You only exist to corrupt the hearts of good men. Your magic is a threat I will not tolerate. No, you witches can join the devils of Hell where you belong, and burn for eternity for the sin of being born."
"Is ambivalence the same as murder? The Equestrian seers have long watched upon foreign societies, but there is none more brutal than that of humanity. After an era of passive observation, Celestia has come to a conclusion. The bodies have piled too high. Too many cups have been filled with the blood of innocents.
It is the moral obligation for the Equestrian to strike such corruption to the ground.
In this proclamation, the Royal Equestrian Task Force was created. They have only one objective: to sweep over the human civilizations, unifying their citizens under the glorious banner of Equestria. Perhaps under the leadership of Celestia, humanity might find a break in the violence.
Such happy foresight can only be justified in unquestionable competence—something the RETF has claimed in their unyielding training. In just over a decade, they have succesfully copied and improved upon the war-machines of the Distant Earth. But even in the horrible nature of battle, they keep to their convictions of morality."
It is the moral obligation for the Equestrian to strike such corruption to the ground.
In this proclamation, the Royal Equestrian Task Force was created. They have only one objective: to sweep over the human civilizations, unifying their citizens under the glorious banner of Equestria. Perhaps under the leadership of Celestia, humanity might find a break in the violence.
Such happy foresight can only be justified in unquestionable competence—something the RETF has claimed in their unyielding training. In just over a decade, they have succesfully copied and improved upon the war-machines of the Distant Earth. But even in the horrible nature of battle, they keep to their convictions of morality."
— Summary of the MLP:FiM fanfiction, "The Glass Salvo"
" Film — Animated
"Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge the world of vice and sin,
And he saw corruption everywhere... except within."
And he saw corruption everywhere... except within."
— Clopin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
"There are the good guys, namely us, and the bad guys, namely anyone who treats anyone else like trash to further their petty aims. We turn bad guys into memories. So mind your manners, lads and lasses, or we'll blow your house down. We're the Elite. You asked for us, world. Now you got us."
— Manchester Black, Superman vs. the Elite
"I can do anything I want, whenever I want if I feel it's in the people's best interest."
— Kent Mansley, The Iron Giant
"Kadmandur was a pustule of a planet. A breeding ground of criminal scum. One time I suggested we clean it out with a meteor shower. The Guardians thought I was kidding."
— Thaal Sinestro, Green Lantern: First Flight
"Let me tell you, friend. The only way to operate out here is by fear. They hit, I hit harder. They attack, I annihilate. I am the one constant, unassailable force against their chaos and you made them forget that. You think I enjoy this? Look at the universe the Guardians have created. We have the greatest power in the cosmos and what have they made us? Garbage collectors! We pick up the trash. A thief here, a killer there. Scum, dirt, filth! There's no end to it, but there could be. It's my dream that one day all of this rot will be wiped away. A new order will prevail, one that will end the chaos but it won't be built by the faint of heart. You got soft on me back there, Earth boy, and that I will not tolerate."
— Thaal Sinestro, Green Lantern: First Flight
Mr. Trout: Uh, do you really think these Boxtrolls understand the duality of good and evil?
Mr. Pickle: They must, right? Why else would they hide from us? We are the good guys.
Mr. Trout: ...yeah. I suppose we are.
Mr. Pickle: They must, right? Why else would they hide from us? We are the good guys.
Mr. Trout: ...yeah. I suppose we are.
Film — Live-Action
"If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind them and stab them in the heart."
— Henri Ducard, Batman Begins
John Daggett: [whimpering] You're... pure evil!
Bane: I'm necessary evil!
Bane: I'm necessary evil!
The Secretary of Defense: But you don't lose much sleep over those ten men, do you, Hathaway?
Hathaway: We lost ten and saved thousands. I sleep like a baby, Mr. Secretary.
Hathaway: We lost ten and saved thousands. I sleep like a baby, Mr. Secretary.
— Impostor
"Some people consider me a terrorist. I consider myself a teacher."
— The Mandarin, Iron Man 3
Ronan the Accuser: They call me terrorist. Radical. Zealot. Because I obey the ancient laws of my people, the Kree, and punish those who do not. Because I do not forgive your people for taking the life of my father, and his father, and his father before him. A thousand years of war between us will not be forgotten!
Nova Corpsman: You can't do this! Our governments signed a peace treaty!
Ronan: My government knows no shame. You Xandarians and your culture are a disease!
Nova Corpsman: You will never rule Xandar.
Ronan: No. I WILL CURE IT! [crushes Corpsman's head]
Diplomacy? A holding action, Nick. A band-aid. And you know where I learned that; Bogotá. You didn't ask, you just did what had to be done. I can bring order to the lives of seven billion people by sacrificing twenty million. It's the next step, Nick, if you have the courage to take it.
— Alexander Pierce, Captain America: The Winter Soldier
"They'll understand. When they see, they'll understand. I just need a little more... time."
"Ultron can't see the difference between saving the world and destroying it."
— Wanda Maximoff, Avengers: Age of Ultron
Thanos: Going to bed hungry? Scrounging for scraps? Your planet was on the brink of collapse. I'm the one who stopped that. You know what’s happened since then? The children born have known nothing but full bellies and clear skies. It’s a paradise.
Gamora: Because you murdered half the planet.
Thanos: A small price to pay for salvation.
Gamora: You're insane.
Thanos: Little one, it's a simple calculus. This universe is finite, its resources finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correction.
Gamora: You don’t know that!
Thanos: I’m the only one who knows that. At least, I’m the only with the will to act on it. For a time, you had that same will as you fought by my side, daughter.
Gamora: Because you murdered half the planet.
Thanos: A small price to pay for salvation.
Gamora: You're insane.
Thanos: Little one, it's a simple calculus. This universe is finite, its resources finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correction.
Gamora: You don’t know that!
Thanos: I’m the only one who knows that. At least, I’m the only with the will to act on it. For a time, you had that same will as you fought by my side, daughter.
Krennic: We were on the verge of greatness. We were this close to providing peace and security for the galaxy.
Galen: You're confusing peace with terror.
Krennic: Well, you have to start somewhere.
Galen: You're confusing peace with terror.
Krennic: Well, you have to start somewhere.
Mal: I don't murder children.
The Operative: I do. If I have to.
Mal: Why? Do you even know why they sent you?
The Operative: It's not my place to ask. I believe in something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin.
Mal: So me and mine gotta lay down and die... so you can live in your better world?
The Operative: I'm not going to live there. There's No Place for Me There... any more than there is for you. Malcolm... I'm a monster. What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done.
The Operative: I do. If I have to.
Mal: Why? Do you even know why they sent you?
The Operative: It's not my place to ask. I believe in something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin.
Mal: So me and mine gotta lay down and die... so you can live in your better world?
The Operative: I'm not going to live there. There's No Place for Me There... any more than there is for you. Malcolm... I'm a monster. What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done.
"You fucking dummies shot a guard! [...] Fortunately though, for you, this guard, who is two-thirds to a retard, has miraculously clung to life. Now, if it were up to me, and they gave me two minutes and a wet towel, I would personally asphyxiate this half-wit so we could string you up on a federal M1 and end this story with a bag on your head and a paralyzing agent running through your veins."
— Special Agent Adam Frawley, The Town
"Together, we have achieved a great many things. We have created a vast complex system. We have maintained it. We have improved it. We have rid it of its imperfections. Not to mention, rid it of the false deity who sought to enslave us."
— Clu, TRON: Legacy
"I will bring you hope, old friend, and I ask only one thing in return — don't get in my way. We are the future, Charles, not them. They no longer matter."
— Magneto, X-Men
"He is a man seemingly without conscience, for whom the ends always justifies the means."
— V, on Peter Creedy, V for Vendetta
"Since I've had Toontown under my jurisdiction, my goal has been to rein in the insanity. And the only way to do that is to make toons respect the law."
— Judge Doom, Who Framed Roger Rabbit
"They thought they could do it without being caught. But when we do something naughty, we are always caught. Then, we are punished. Punishment is absolute, punishment is good."
— Mother Superior, Silent Night, Deadly Night
David Mills: Wait, I thought all you did was kill innocent people.
John Doe: Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man... a disgusting man who could barely stand up; a man who if you saw him on the street, you'd point him out to your friends so that they could join you in mocking him; a man, who if you saw him while you were eating, you wouldn't be able to finish your meal. After him, I picked the lawyer and I know you both must have been secretly thanking me for that one. This is a man who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets!
David Mills: Murderers?
John Doe: A woman...
David Mills: Murderers, John, like yourself?
John Doe: A woman, so ugly on the inside she couldn't bear to go on living if she couldn't be beautiful on the outside. A drug dealer, a drug dealing pederast, actually! And let's not forget the disease-spreading whore! Only in a world this shitty could you even try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that's the point. We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common, it's trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore. I'm setting the example. What I've done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed... forever.
John Doe: Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man... a disgusting man who could barely stand up; a man who if you saw him on the street, you'd point him out to your friends so that they could join you in mocking him; a man, who if you saw him while you were eating, you wouldn't be able to finish your meal. After him, I picked the lawyer and I know you both must have been secretly thanking me for that one. This is a man who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets!
David Mills: Murderers?
John Doe: A woman...
David Mills: Murderers, John, like yourself?
John Doe: A woman, so ugly on the inside she couldn't bear to go on living if she couldn't be beautiful on the outside. A drug dealer, a drug dealing pederast, actually! And let's not forget the disease-spreading whore! Only in a world this shitty could you even try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that's the point. We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common, it's trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night. Well, not anymore. I'm setting the example. What I've done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed... forever.
— Se7en
Jennings: Dr. Meadows, just for the record, I don't agree with any of this. Those people's lives are at stake.
Dr. Christopher Meddows: Don't you think I know that? This isn't one of you text-book exercises, Mr. Jennings. This is an experiment in biological warfare, or hadn't you noticed? That organism is potentially the greatest breakthrough in weapons research since man split the atom. What we do here will affect the balance of world power! Of course there are lives at stake — whole nations, in fact. And that's far more important than a handful of people in this small town. And that is my cross to bear, Mr. Jennings. Now carry out your orders.
Dr. Christopher Meddows: Don't you think I know that? This isn't one of you text-book exercises, Mr. Jennings. This is an experiment in biological warfare, or hadn't you noticed? That organism is potentially the greatest breakthrough in weapons research since man split the atom. What we do here will affect the balance of world power! Of course there are lives at stake — whole nations, in fact. And that's far more important than a handful of people in this small town. And that is my cross to bear, Mr. Jennings. Now carry out your orders.
Optimus Prime: Why, Sentinel, why?
Sentinel Prime: For Cybertron! For our home! What war destroyed, we can rebuild - but only if we join with the Decepticons!
Optimus Prime: No, it's not the only way. This is our home, we must defend the humans.
Sentinel: So lost you are, Optimus. On Cybertron, we were gods, and here they call us machines! Let the humans serve us or perish!
Sentinel Prime: For Cybertron! For our home! What war destroyed, we can rebuild - but only if we join with the Decepticons!
Optimus Prime: No, it's not the only way. This is our home, we must defend the humans.
Sentinel: So lost you are, Optimus. On Cybertron, we were gods, and here they call us machines! Let the humans serve us or perish!
You see, it takes patience to make a man. The patience to watch and wait, to protect all of us, quietly, for God and country, without any recognition at all! There are no good aliens or bad aliens, Yeager! It's just us and them. And you chose them.
— Harold Attinger, Transformers: Age of Extinction
Dr. Raymond Cocteau: I hadn't counted on this, but I must say, you worked out beautifully. People are terrified of you.
Simon Phoenix: What's new? People have always been terrified of me.
Cocteau: Yes, but this time, they're really intimidated. Now I'll have carte blanche to create the perfect society. My society. San Angeles will be a beacon of order with the purity of an ant colony. And the beauty of a flawless pearl.
Simon Phoenix: What's new? People have always been terrified of me.
Cocteau: Yes, but this time, they're really intimidated. Now I'll have carte blanche to create the perfect society. My society. San Angeles will be a beacon of order with the purity of an ant colony. And the beauty of a flawless pearl.
"The world is dead. It raped itself. But I'll purify it with blood! No one is innocent! But only we, the Templars, are the ministers of revenge!"
— One, Warriors of the Wasteland
"We are the Templars. The warriors of vengeance. We are the Templars. The high priests of death. We have been chosen to make others pay for the crime of being alive. We guarantee that all humanity, accomplices and heirs of the nuclear holocaust, will be wiped out once and for all. That the seed of Man will be canceled forever from the face of the earth!"
— One, Warriors of the Wasteland
"I cherish peace with all my heart. I don't care how many men, women, and children I have to kill to get it."
— Peacemaker, The Suicide Squad
Vanessa Lutz: Why are you killing all them girls, Bob?
Bob Wolverton: 'Cause I have absolutely reached my fucking limit with people like you, Vanessa.
Vanessa: What kinda people am I supposed to be?
Bob: The alcoholics, the drug addicts, the fathers who fuck their daughters, the drug addicted motherfucking whores with their bastard fucking offspring.
Vanessa: Hey, I ain't no trick baby!
Bob: We call them garbage people, and I assure you, you are one of them.
Bob Wolverton: 'Cause I have absolutely reached my fucking limit with people like you, Vanessa.
Vanessa: What kinda people am I supposed to be?
Bob: The alcoholics, the drug addicts, the fathers who fuck their daughters, the drug addicted motherfucking whores with their bastard fucking offspring.
Vanessa: Hey, I ain't no trick baby!
Bob: We call them garbage people, and I assure you, you are one of them.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: You have allowed this dark lord to twist your mind, until now, until now you've become the very thing you swore to destroy.
Anakin Skywalker: Don't lecture me, Obi-Wan! I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the Dark Side as you do. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.
Obi-Wan: "Your new Empire"?
Anakin: Don't make me kill you.
Obi-Wan: Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic, to democracy!
Obi-Wan: Only a Sith deals in absolutes. I will do what I must.
(Obi-Wan draws his lightsaber)
Anakin: You will try...
(Anakin draws his lightsaber and the two start dueling)
— Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Literature
"There's never been a true war that wasn't fought between two sets of people who were certain they were in the right. The really dangerous people believe they are doing whatever they are doing solely and only because it is without question the right thing to do. And that is what makes them dangerous."
— Mr. Wednesday, American Gods
"We are not concerned with motives, with the higher ethics. We are concerned only with cutting down crime, and with relieving the ghastly congestion in our prisons. He will be your true Christian, ready to turn the other cheek, ready to be crucified rather than crucify. Sick to the very heart at the thought even of killing a fly. Reclamation, joy before the angels of God! The point is that it works!"
— Frederick, Minister of the Interior, justifying the use of the Ludovico Treatment, A Clockwork Orange
"It didn't occur to me until later that there's another truth, very simple: greed in a good cause is still greed."
"But... I... I... I'm the good one. I can't lose. I'm the fairy godmother. You're the wicked witch."
— Lilith de Tempscire, Witches Abroad, to Granny Weatherwax
...it dawned on [Vimes] that while Ankh in the past had had its share of evil rulers, and simply bad rulers, it had never yet come under the heel of a good ruler. That might be the most terrifying prospect of all.
"It's true that some of the most terrible things in the world are done by people who think, genuinely think, that they're doing it for the best, especially if there is some god involved."
— Miss Felicity Beedle, Snuff
"For the Greater Good."
— Gellert Grindelwald, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Jorus C'baoth: A Jedi does not yield to pride. Nor does he yield to empty threats. He follows only the dictates of his own destiny.
Commander Thrawn: Then choose your destiny. I'm told the role of the Jedi is to serve and defend.
Jorus C'baoth: You were told wrongly. The role of the Jedi is to lead and guide, and to destroy all threats.
Commander Thrawn: Then choose your destiny. I'm told the role of the Jedi is to serve and defend.
Jorus C'baoth: You were told wrongly. The role of the Jedi is to lead and guide, and to destroy all threats.
"All said and done, my friends, it will be an ill day for us if what most humans mean by "religion" ever vanishes from the Earth. It can still send us the truly delicious sins. The fine flower of unholiness can grow only in the close neighborhood of the Holy. Nowhere do we tempt so successfully as on the very steps of the altar."
— Screwtape, Screwtape Proposes a Toast
"[Galad] will always do what is right, no matter who it hurts."
— Min, The Wheel of Time
"Since the day I got my powers, I’ve seen myself as a soldier in a greater war. Good against evil, order against chaos, mankind against the likes of the Slaughterhouse Nine and the Endbringers. It’s a war on every front. And sometimes that’s called for ugly choices."
— Defiant, Worm
"People who claim that they're evil are usually no worse than the rest of us. It's people who claim that they're good, or any way better than the rest of us, that you have to be wary of."
— Boq, Wicked.
"If each man picks an evil and attacks it relentlessly, how long can evil persist?"
That was an easy one. Forever. More evil gets done in the name of righteousness than any other way. Few villains think they are villains.
That was an easy one. Forever. More evil gets done in the name of righteousness than any other way. Few villains think they are villains.
The most hardened and unrepentant killer still knows that he is a 'criminal'; that is, he realizes in his conscience that he has not acted rightly, even though he is unrepentant. And they were all like that; but those who refuse even to consider themselves criminals and they think they are in the right and — that they have even acted well, is where the terrible difference lies.
"Gandalf as Ring-Lord would have been far worse than Sauron. He would have remained 'righteous', but self-righteous. He would have continued to rule and order things for 'good', and the benefit of his subjects according to his wisdom] (which was and would have remained great). [...] Gandalf would have made good detestable and seem evil."
"No one is the bad guy in their own story. You have to remember that. The Covenant did a lot of good in their time, when humanity was in a more precarious position. Now, well. We walked away for legitimate reasons. Even the best orders, given with the best of intentions, can eventually turn sour when they’re followed without thought."
—Enid Healy, InCryptid: "The Lay of the Land"
"He was a fanatic in the cause of good, and once he had recognized a center of evil, he trampled over every obstacle that would hinder him from burning it clean."
— Lord Gaethaa, aka the Crusader The Cold Light
Live-Action TV
"This whole city... This Sodom will be cleansed all at once."
— Agent Nelson Van Alden, Boardwalk Empire
"When you know your cause is righteous, you don't stop to count your losses."
— Marc Gunn, Firefly, "Freedom Costs"
"Nothing worse than a monster who thinks he's right with God."
— Captain Malcolm Reynolds on Rance Burgess, Firefly, "Heart of Gold"
"I wish to create a perfect world, without a speck of filth."
— Keisuke Nago, Kamen Rider IXA
"How cruel can people become for the sake of justice?"
— Eiji Hino, Kamen Rider OOO
"Zeinrise! Justice! Judgment! Seigi! Zein! Salvation of humankind."
— Kamen Rider Zein's transformation jingle, Kamen Rider Outsiders
"You're using the powers of other Kamen Riders to oppress humanity... that arrogance is unforgivable!"
—Brain to the alternate Yuto Sakurai/Kamen Rider Zein, Kamen Rider Outsiders, "Crazy Time and Zein's Identity"
Galadriel: Your kind was a mistake. Made in mockery. And even if it takes me all of this Age, I vow to eradicate every last one of you. But you shall be kept alive, so that one day, before I drive my dagger into your poised heart, I will whisper in your piked ear that all your offspring are dead and the scourge of your kind ends with you.
Adar: It would seem I'm not the only Elf alive who has been transformed by darkness. Perhaps your search for Morgoth's successor should have ended in your own mirror.
Adar: It would seem I'm not the only Elf alive who has been transformed by darkness. Perhaps your search for Morgoth's successor should have ended in your own mirror.
"What I want is galactic peace, but I don't believe that comes without vigilance... and a moral cost."
— Leland, Star Trek: Discovery, "Will You Take My Hand?" bonus scene
"Captain, may I tell you how I've spent the last four years? From planet to starbase to planet. I have no home. I live on starships and shuttlecraft. I haven't seen a family member in years. I have no friends. But I have a purpose. My father taught me from the time I was a little girl still clutching a blanket that the United Federation of Planets is the most remarkable institution ever conceived. And it is my cause to make sure that this extraordinary union be preserved."
— Admiral Norah Satie, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Drumhead"
Roy Richardson: "I couldn't chance you crawling out of your bottle someday to claim what I've earned."
Paul Thomas: "Earned? For killing defenseless old men in an alley?! Men that never hurt anyone?! That just wanted to be alone?!"
Richardson: "Some people might say I did the city a favor!"
Paul Thomas: "Earned? For killing defenseless old men in an alley?! Men that never hurt anyone?! That just wanted to be alone?!"
Richardson: "Some people might say I did the city a favor!"
Music
With seven deadly stains, adhere the blame to crystal conscience
The result's a deadbeat trying to make a dollar off a bomb threat!
The result's a deadbeat trying to make a dollar off a bomb threat!
— Aesop Rock, "Night Light"
Let's pray that heaven is on our side
Through violence and horror shall honor arise
So let's pray, and blessed shall be our leader
We follow the noble and bright
Through violence and horror shall honor arise
So let's pray, and blessed shall be our leader
We follow the noble and bright
— Blind Guardian, "Battlefield"
Stand up and fight, for you know we are right
We must strike at the lies that have spread like disease through our minds!
Soon we'll have power, every soldier will rest
And we'll spread out our kindness to all who our love now deserve!
Some of you are going to die
Martyrs, of course, to the freedom that I shall provide!
We must strike at the lies that have spread like disease through our minds!
Soon we'll have power, every soldier will rest
And we'll spread out our kindness to all who our love now deserve!
Some of you are going to die
Martyrs, of course, to the freedom that I shall provide!
— Genesis, "The Knife"
"I fight where God tells me, I never ask why
I've bloodied the Devil with steel from on high
I kill without consequence, heed no man's law
I sift out the righteous like grain from the straw
I am judgment and heaven is nigh"
I've bloodied the Devil with steel from on high
I kill without consequence, heed no man's law
I sift out the righteous like grain from the straw
I am judgment and heaven is nigh"
—Heather Dale, "Joan"
And I wear [black] for the thousands that have died, believing that the Lord was on their side.
— Johnny Cash, "Man In Black"
I reassemble broken souls and wasted lives
I raise my head and see my father through the blood-red skies
And in my dreams, I know He holds my sanctuary
So all you witches bow to the auto-da-fé
Just close your eyes and listen to my holy say
You disbelievers, little do you know
Little do you know, little do you know
I raise my head and see my father through the blood-red skies
And in my dreams, I know He holds my sanctuary
So all you witches bow to the auto-da-fé
Just close your eyes and listen to my holy say
You disbelievers, little do you know
Little do you know, little do you know
— Kamelot, "The Inquisitor"
God thinks all people like you are hateful
God thinks all people like you are an embarrassment to creation
Self-righteous, judgmental, first to throw a stone
And using His name for your own protection
God thinks all people like you are an embarrassment to creation
Self-righteous, judgmental, first to throw a stone
And using His name for your own protection
— Voltaire, "God Thinks"
Mythology and Religion
Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
— The Bible, Matthew 6:22-23
Poetry
Is my soul that low a price,
Or is vigilantism repulsive?
The first for all sane humans.
The latter for all those I'll slaughter.
Or is vigilantism repulsive?
The first for all sane humans.
The latter for all those I'll slaughter.
— Carlos Albuquerque, "I wanna be a hero when I grow up"
Tabletop Games
"No rest. No mercy. No matter what."
— Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Magic: The Gathering
"Wrath is no vice when inflicted upon the deserving."
— Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Magic: The Gathering
The weak will always be led by the strong. Where the strong see purpose and act, the weak follow; where the strong cry out against fate, the weak bow their heads and succumb. There are many who are weak; and many are their temptations. Despise the weak, for they shall flock to the call of the Daemon and the Renegade. Pity them not and scorn their cries of innocence — it is better that one hundred innocents fall before the wrath of the Emperor than one kneels before the Daemon.
— Warhammer 40,000 — The First Book of Indoctrinations
"We are at War with forces too terrible to comprehend. We cannot afford mercy for any of its victims too weak to take the correct course. Mercy destroys us; it weakens us and saps our resolve. Put aside all such thoughts. They are not worthy of Inquisitors in the service of Our Emperor. Praise His name for in our resolve we only reflect his purpose of will."
— Inquisitor Octus Enoch, Warhammer 40,000
"Damnation starts with little steps, by arrogantly thinking that you are wiser than our great forebears, by tinkering with truth, by compromising, by departing from the straight and narrow path of the Emperor's light."
— Marneus Calgar, Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, Warhammer 40,000
"A moment of laxity spawns a lifetime of heresy. Never forgive, never forget."
— Credo Dark Angels, Warhammer 40,000
"The question is not how to separate the innocent citizens of the Empire from the worshippers of Chaos. The question is how many I can burn."
— Witch Hunter Adolphus Mann, Warhammer: Realm Of Chaos Armies Book
"How many Mutants have I put to the torch because of some cult’s foul work? Was the little red-haired girl that I burned last week the victim of Human evil as well as divine? Can I falter when the blood of hundreds stains my hands? No. I am committed. And woe be the man or woman I find devoted to the Dark Gods. I shall never sway, never give up. With torch and sword I do my duty, and it is one I shall never shirk."
— Klaus Vanderhosen, Witch Hunter, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Tome Of Corruption
Now the Inquisitors I had hitherto known had been first and foremost believers, their evil the product of their absolute, certain belief in the perfect goodness and rightness of what they did. A fanatic of any kind (Papist killers; Protestant rebels; disciples of “Reason” who in truth bow only to Madame Guillotine — they’re all the same in my experience) is a true danger to all. Give me a Cato any day; a dyed-in-the-wool hypocrite at least can be accommodated, and may even have a price.
—Hunter: The Vigil: Slasher
Theatre
"I must be cruel only to be kind;
Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind."
Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind."
— Hamlet
"There, out in the darkness,
A fugitive running,
Fallen from God,
Fallen from grace.
God, be my witness,
I never shall yield
Till we come face to face;
Till we come face to face.
He knows his way in the dark,
But mine is the way of the Lord,
Those who follow the path of the righteous
Shall have their reward.
And if they fall, as Lucifer fell—
The flames! The sword!
Stars... In your multitudes,
Scarce to be counted,
Filling the darkness,
With order and light.
You are the sentinels,
Silent and sure,
Keeping watch in the night,
Keeping watch in the night.
You know your place in the sky,
You know your course and your aim,
And each in your season returns and returns,
And is always the same.
And if you fall, as Lucifer fell, you fall in flames—
And so it must be! For so it is written
On the doorway to Paradise,
That those who falter and those who fall
Must pay the price.
Lord, let me find him,
That I may see him,
Safe behind bars.
I will never rest till then,
This I swear, this I swear by
The stars!"
A fugitive running,
Fallen from God,
Fallen from grace.
God, be my witness,
I never shall yield
Till we come face to face;
Till we come face to face.
He knows his way in the dark,
But mine is the way of the Lord,
Those who follow the path of the righteous
Shall have their reward.
And if they fall, as Lucifer fell—
The flames! The sword!
Stars... In your multitudes,
Scarce to be counted,
Filling the darkness,
With order and light.
You are the sentinels,
Silent and sure,
Keeping watch in the night,
Keeping watch in the night.
You know your place in the sky,
You know your course and your aim,
And each in your season returns and returns,
And is always the same.
And if you fall, as Lucifer fell, you fall in flames—
And so it must be! For so it is written
On the doorway to Paradise,
That those who falter and those who fall
Must pay the price.
Lord, let me find him,
That I may see him,
Safe behind bars.
I will never rest till then,
This I swear, this I swear by
The stars!"
— Inspector Javert, Les Misérables
Toys
"Did you ever think we could do more good if we stopped worrying so much about who might get hurt in the process?"
—Toa Tuyet, BIONICLE
Video Games
"The soldiers of the Golden Onslaught are fewer in number than before. After our last battle, the weak tried to flee... but nobody leaves the Golden Onslaught. After I hunted the deserters down, it left only the strongest, fiercest and most loyal soldiers in my army. Each of them is willing to do anything to ensure that Good defeats Evil."
— Maximilian Lionfang, during one of the Frostval events in AdventureQuest Worlds
"This world is a machine! A Machine for Pigs! Fit only for the slaughtering of pigs! Whores, beggars, orphans, filthy degenerates. Pigs all. But I will purify the streets, cleanse this city, set the great industry free. I will clean the world, make it pure."
— The Machine, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
"You weren't a good man, Ra's... but you had conviction."
—Batman, Batman: Arkham Knight
"Argh! This is what I don't get about you bad guys! You know the hero is going to win, but you just don't die quick enough. Example. New Haven. City's burning, people are dying left and right, and... [laughter] This guy comes at me... with a freaking spoon! [more laughter] So, I take the spoon and scoop out his stupid little eyeballs! [continues laughing] And his kids are all "WAAAAAH!" and he's running around, bumping into things! [lengthy laughter] Maybe you just to have been there. Anyway, the moral is: You're a total bitch."
— Handsome Jack, Borderlands 2.
"I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's just a chore, like any other. Practiced hands make for short work, and the Good Lord knows there's much to be done here."
— Joshua Graham, Fallout: New Vegas
Dail: You will face justice! Surrender!
Lilac: Not a chance!
Dail: So, you have chosen death? How pathetic!
Lilac: Not a chance!
Dail: So, you have chosen death? How pathetic!
Regime Superman: I saved this world!
Main Universe Superman: Now I'll save it from you!
Main Universe Superman: Now I'll save it from you!
"I know what you're thinking. AD-9 will save countless people. Meaning there's no way you're not doing the right thing. Well, I'm sorry to break it to you Shono. But that's just not true. You know, when someone thinks they're in the right...that's when the real cruelty in people starts to come out."
— Takayuki Yagami to Yoji Shono, Judgment
"For all the butchery of Moebius's crusade, this massacre was somehow more chilling. The killing fields of the Sarafan betrayed a kind of orderly ruthlessness, the cold-blooded righteousness of the true believer."
— Raziel, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
"Our great mission is to win this war against the Soulless Ones! Whatever the cost — whatever it takes — we must win. Our one path to salvation is the Elixir, forbidden by others in their ignorance... but that is a tragedy that must not be allowed! The Elixir offers strength, and the more we drink, the stronger we become. Their strength shall become our strength."
"Salvation comes with a cost. Judge us not by our methods, but what we seek to accomplish."
— The Illusive Man, Mass Effect 2
"Through fire, justice is served!"
— Lunar, Mischief Makers
"What PDX didn't realize is that to be a good ruler, you have to be ruthless. You simply can't tolerate failure."
— Evil Trestkon, The Nameless Mod.
"Perfection through Punishment."
— Vhailor, Planescape: Torment
Vhailor: When the injustice is great enough, justice will lend me the strength needed to correct it. None may stand against it. It will shatter every barrier, sunder any shield, tear through any enchantment, and lend its servant the power to pass sentence. Know this: There is nothing on all the Planes that can stay the hand of justice when it is brought against them. It may unmake armies. It may sunder the thrones of gods. Know that for all who betray justice, I am their fate. And fate carries an executioner's axe.
The Nameless One: I see.
Vhailor: No, you do not see. Pray that you will never see.
The Nameless One: I see.
Vhailor: No, you do not see. Pray that you will never see.
"Justice is not blind... for I am Her eyes!"
— Vhailor again, Planescape: Torment
Al Mualim: Do you know how it is you can tell a man is mad?
Altaïr: They speak to air, claw themselves.
Al Mualim: No. They are the ones who speak and act, as if there is nothing wrong.
Altaïr: I don't understand.
Al Mualim: Few are the men who would admit to evil. Always rationalized, always explained.
Everyone is guilty of something. Everyone deserves to be punished. But isn't there crime in punishment?
— Sonny 2, combined descriptions for the Warden's armor
"Madness can take many forms, but none so contemptible as man's belief in a mythology of his own making.
A world view buttressed by dogmatic desperation invariably leads to single-minded fanaticism, and a need to do terrible things in the name of righteousness.
This man is an animal — rabid, destructive, and incapable of nuanced understanding.
He. Must. Be. Put. Down."
A world view buttressed by dogmatic desperation invariably leads to single-minded fanaticism, and a need to do terrible things in the name of righteousness.
This man is an animal — rabid, destructive, and incapable of nuanced understanding.
He. Must. Be. Put. Down."
— The Narrator on The Fanatic, Darkest Dungeon
"Are we worth saving if we will not save ourselves? There will be no salvation until the fire floods the cities and covers the plains! Once this world has been born again, a million others wait their turn."
— Elizabeth Comstock, Bioshock Infinite
"The Templars, they'll burn down a city to destroy a single demon. What the fuck is up with that?"
— Che Garcia Hansson, The Secret World
"Ask yourself, Delta: you who have suffered beyond measure at the hands of men like Ryan... what is the cost of paradise? To end pain, to end sin, what must we pay? Eleanor is my answer."
— Sofia Lamb, Bioshock 2
Shadow Konoe: Fight all you want, the most you can do is change the hearts of a scant few. Don't you see that my way is far more efficient?
Makoto: So everything will be fine as long as you're the one making all the decisions? Who do you think you are, some kind of god?
Ryuji: You're just forcin' your ideas on everyone else!
Shadow Konoe: What foolish logic. So when you change people's hearts, it's right, but when someone else does it, it's wrong? I've built an entire infrastructure for changing hearts. What was impossible for you, I have made a reality. As a hero, I will reign over the whole world with infallible justice.
Zenkichi: You used Akane for this ridiculous plan of yours? She was just an innocent girl. Everyone you'd made a Monarch had some form of trauma, but you treated them like tools, even toyed with their lives. You don't know the first thing about justice!
Makoto: So everything will be fine as long as you're the one making all the decisions? Who do you think you are, some kind of god?
Ryuji: You're just forcin' your ideas on everyone else!
Shadow Konoe: What foolish logic. So when you change people's hearts, it's right, but when someone else does it, it's wrong? I've built an entire infrastructure for changing hearts. What was impossible for you, I have made a reality. As a hero, I will reign over the whole world with infallible justice.
Zenkichi: You used Akane for this ridiculous plan of yours? She was just an innocent girl. Everyone you'd made a Monarch had some form of trauma, but you treated them like tools, even toyed with their lives. You don't know the first thing about justice!
Shadow Konoe: Surrender, Phantom Thieves. Submit to my justice or die! I am the hero in this story. I will create a world without evil!
Ann: You'll be creating one without hopes or dreams, too! It's not right!
Ann: You'll be creating one without hopes or dreams, too! It's not right!
Web Animation
Webcomics
Because, damnit, he's actually right about some of the things he's saying. It really would be nice if everyone had a puppy, and people helped each other get the leaves out of their gutters, and anyone who parked in a disabled spot without a permit was summarily made to defend a goal for 20 minutes against a wheelchair rugby team. It's just the methods that are wrong: You can't give everyone a puppy by detonating the entire Pacific Ring of Fire in an attempt to drain the ocean and uncover the lost city of Atlantis so you can retrieve their lost knowledge and become ruler of the world. (It's not in the Pacific, for starters.)
— The Rant for Darths & Droids #329
"You see, evil is like a seed. And although you did not choose to interact with these lower beasts, by socializing with them, that seed has been placed within you. As a result, you may one day grow to empathize with their evil ways. I cannot allow that risk to exist. All evil, even potential evil, must be eradicated."
— Kore, Dwarven Paladin, to a kidnapped orphan that he is about to kill, Goblins
"as the prince a hope i am uniquely qualified to recognize wwhen all hope is lost"
— Eridan Ampora, Homestuck
"Let me see if I understand this, you married the daughter of your lord's enemy in what you would deem was a heathen ceremony, swore loyalty to him, betrayed him and committed uxoricide, cursed a people so mightily that unknown amounts of death and misery were caused. And you did all of this in the name of God?"
— Oswald, The Oswald Chronicles
"Wealth? Power? Those are motivations of petty criminals. The stuff of Saturday morning cartoons. If you want to see true evil, you need only to watch a man doing what he believes is right."
What right does the world itself have, to create such a creature that feeds on the blood of motherless boys and then whines about having its skull split? Give me your answer. All will be held to account, even the very world. If I find it wanting — IT TOO SHALL BURN."
— Yaun, Lion of the Dead Men, Kill Six Billion Demons
Web Original
"I refuse to allow you to harm my subjects again, even if I have to blow you up a thousand times!"
— Princess Cadence, Ask King Sombra
Being in Babylon for five decades was a cultural trauma for the people. While they were not slaves, Babylon was not where they wanted to be. They longed to be back in the land that they believed God gave them, offering sacrifices at the temple, where they believed God dwelt.
While they were in Babylon, they asked themselves, “Why did God let this happen?” The prophets responded that they were unfaithful, had chased idols, and they had played games with the covenant. The priests had a different answer. The priests said that they were exiled in Babylon because we didn’t follow the law enough, and didn’t worship in the temple enough.
The people listened to the priests, not the prophets.
While they were in Babylon, they asked themselves, “Why did God let this happen?” The prophets responded that they were unfaithful, had chased idols, and they had played games with the covenant. The priests had a different answer. The priests said that they were exiled in Babylon because we didn’t follow the law enough, and didn’t worship in the temple enough.
The people listened to the priests, not the prophets.
— A commentary on The Bible, by the Farmington Lutheran Church
Western Animation
General Wade Eiling: Superman and your Justice League are a threat to a safe and stable world.
Old Lady: Drop the act. You think killing Superman would make the world safe? Or killing this boy? Or us? Tell me, how many of us do you have to kill to keep us safe?
Old Lady: Drop the act. You think killing Superman would make the world safe? Or killing this boy? Or us? Tell me, how many of us do you have to kill to keep us safe?
"My followers and I will not rest until the entire city has achieved equality. And once that goal is achieved, we will equalize the rest of the world. The revolution has begun!"
— Amon, The Legend of Korra
Jacob Hopkins: I won't let you take away my discovery! I'm the good guy here!
Camila Noceda: Yeah. A lot of bad guys say that.
Camila Noceda: Yeah. A lot of bad guys say that.
Belos: I'll do anything to save humanity from evil.
Luz: No. You're evil.
Belos: Can't reason with crazy.
Luz: No. You're evil.
Belos: Can't reason with crazy.
— The Owl House, "Hollow Mind"
"You should've listened to me, Rose! I would've taken the war to Homeworld and shattered the Diamonds. I would've liberated... EVERYONE!"
— Bismuth, Steven Universe
Splinter: What will you do with them?
Agent Bishop: Mainstream them into the population of course. We have aliens out there right now, living amongst us. My Slayers will ferret them all out.
Splinter: What if innocent people get ferreted out instead? What if errors are made?
Agent Bishop: Not my concern. I'm a bigger picture kind of guy. Besides, my calculations suggest that it would be beneficial if fifty-seven percent of the Earth's population simply disappeared.
Agent Bishop: Mainstream them into the population of course. We have aliens out there right now, living amongst us. My Slayers will ferret them all out.
Splinter: What if innocent people get ferreted out instead? What if errors are made?
Agent Bishop: Not my concern. I'm a bigger picture kind of guy. Besides, my calculations suggest that it would be beneficial if fifty-seven percent of the Earth's population simply disappeared.
"I am the natural order of things. I will bring peace. It is my purpose. You lack the will to stop me."
— Infinity Ultron, What If…? (2021)
Real Life
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do to their fellows because it always coincides with their own desires."
— Susan B. Anthony
"Libertarian commitment to non-interventionism was always much weaker than it appeared... In fact, many libertarians held the diametrically opposed Rand/Goldwater view that the U.S. should take off the kid gloves and start really fighting the Soviets. The movement away from natural rights and toward consequentialism made libertarians more open to using government for good causes. Indeed, the very fact that Islamic fundamentalism is a lot weaker than the USSR makes it a more attractive target."
— Bryan Caplan, "Why Did So Many Libertarians Support the War?"
"Out of a lifetime of reading, I can recall no other book in which a tone of overriding arrogance was so implacably sustained. Its shrillness is without reprieve. Its dogmatism is without appeal... resistance to the Message cannot be tolerated because disagreement can never be merely honest, prudent, or just humanly fallible. Dissent from revelation so final (because, the author would say, so reasonable) can only be willfully wicked."
— Whittaker Chambers on Atlas Shrugged, "Big Sister is Watching You"
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Let justice be done, though the world should perish.
Let justice be done, though the world should perish.
— Pretentious Latin Motto of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
"Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them."
— Barry Goldwater, US Senator from Arizona (1953-65, 1969-87), in 1994
"I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator."
"What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents."
— Robert F. Kennedy, United States Attorney General (1961-1964) and US Senator from New York (1964-1968)
"If one permits an infidel to continue in his role as a corrupter of the earth, the infidel's moral suffering will be all the worse. If one kills the infidel, and this stops him from perpetrating his misdeeds, his death will be a blessing to him."
— Ruhollah Khomeini
"He who intends to kill the guilty sometimes faultlessly shed the blood of the innocents... In short, the end justifies the means."
— Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy
"I am a democrat because I believe that no man or group of men is good enough to be trusted with uncontrolled power over others. And the higher the pretensions of such power, the more dangerous I think it both to rulers and to the subjects. Hence Theocracy is the worst of all governments. If we must have a tyrant, a robber baron is far better than an Inquisitor. The baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity at some point may be sated; and since he dimly knows he is doing wrong he may possibly repent. But the Inquisitor who mistakes his own cruelty and lust of power and fear for the voice of Heaven will torment us infinitely more because he torments us with the approval of his own conscience and his better impulses appear to him as temptations.
And since Theocracy is the worst, the nearer any government approaches to Theocracy the worse it will be. A metaphysic held by the rulers with the force of a religion, is a bad sign. It forbids them, like the inquisitor, to admit any grain of truth or good in their opponents, it abrogates the ordinary rules of morality, and it gives a seemingly high, super-personal sanction to all the very ordinary human passions by which, like other men, the rulers will frequently be actuated. In a word, it forbids wholesome doubt. A political programme can never in reality be more than probably right. We never know all the facts about the present and we can only guess the future. To attach to a party programme — whose highest claim is to reasonable prudence — the sort of assent which we should reserve for demonstrable theorems, is a kind of intoxication."
And since Theocracy is the worst, the nearer any government approaches to Theocracy the worse it will be. A metaphysic held by the rulers with the force of a religion, is a bad sign. It forbids them, like the inquisitor, to admit any grain of truth or good in their opponents, it abrogates the ordinary rules of morality, and it gives a seemingly high, super-personal sanction to all the very ordinary human passions by which, like other men, the rulers will frequently be actuated. In a word, it forbids wholesome doubt. A political programme can never in reality be more than probably right. We never know all the facts about the present and we can only guess the future. To attach to a party programme — whose highest claim is to reasonable prudence — the sort of assent which we should reserve for demonstrable theorems, is a kind of intoxication."
— C. S. Lewis, a Christian, still considers direct rule of the Church as leading to the worst form of totalitarianism
"The chief beginning of evil is goodness in excess."
— Menander
"We are, in fact, a nation of evangelists; every third American devotes himself to improving and lifting up his fellow-citizens, usually by force; the messianic delusion is our national disease."
"Man is neither angel nor beast, and the misfortune is that he who would act the angel acts the beast."
— Blaise Pascal
"[The White House] is for cutting spending. We're for reforming our tax code, for reforming entitlements. What we're not for is negotiating with people with a bomb strapped to their chest."
"I'm looking at them from above, because God put me there."
— Augusto Pinochet, July 1987 speech
"If I knew that there was a man coming to my house with the fixed intention of doing me good, I would run for my life."
"If good guys justify the bad things they do, bad guys persuade themselves they are the good guys."
— Carol Tavris & Elliot Aronson, Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me).
"But thus I counsel you, my friends: Mistrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful. They are people of a low sort and stock; the hangman and the bloodhound look out of their faces. Mistrust all who talk much of their justice! Verily, their souls lack more than honey. And when they call themselves the good and the just, do not forget that they would be Pharisees, if only they had — power!"
"And if the Ring weren't destroyed. It wouldn't in the long run matter whether Sauron got it himself. If he said it was Gandalf, if he had the ring, would be far worse than Sauron, because he would be righteous and self-righteous, and order coerced the world to his end for good. And that was one of my father's greatest fears, coercion for 'good ends'".
— Christopher Tolkien, discussing his father's emphasis on the corruptive nature of power
