A Quote by James Cook

It is said that government is a necessary evil, but it is far more evil than it is necessary.

James Cook

Quote Topics

Evil Far Government More Necessary Necessary Evil Said Than

Quote Author

James Cook
British - Explorer
October 27, 1728 - February 14, 1779

Most "necessary evils" are far more evil than necessary.

Richard Branson

Religion is a by-product of fear. For much of human history it may have been a necessary evil, but why was it more evil than necessary? Isn’t killing people in the name of god a pretty good definition of insanity?

Arthur C. Clarke

I've heard it said that umpires are necessary evil. Well, we are necessary, but we are not evil. We are hard-working and dedicated people whose primary interest is to make sure the game is played fairly. We are the integrity of the game.

Doug Harvey

Any communitys arm of force - military, police, security - needs people in it who can do necessary evil, and yet not be made evil by it. To do only the necessary and no more. To constantly question the assumptions, to stop the slide into atrocity.

Lois McMaster Bujold

Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a "necessary evil", it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil.

Sydney J. Harris

My brother, are war and battle evil? Necessary, however, is the evil; necessary are the envy and the distrust and the back-biting among the virtues.

Friedrich Nietzsche

It may be necessary temporarily to accept a lesser evil, but one must never label a necessary evil as good.

Margaret Mead

The Declaration [of Independence] was not a protest against government, but against the excess of government. It prescribed the proper role of government, to secure the rights of individuals and to effect their safety and happiness. In modern society, no individual can do this alone. So government is not a necessary evil but a necessary good.

Gerald R. Ford

Government is an evil; it is only the thoughtlessness and vices of men that make it a necessary evil. When all men are good and wise, government will of itself decay.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.

Jimmy Carter

What is evil? Killing is evil, lying is evil, slandering is evil, abuse is evil, gossip is evil, envy is evil, hatred is evil, to cling to false doctrine is evil; all these things are evil. And what is the root of evil? Desire is the root of evil, illusion is the root of evil.

Gautama Buddha

Politics is a necessary evil, or a necessary annoyance, a necessary conundrum.

P. J. O'Rourke

Government is a necessary evil

Thomas Paine

Thus, then, stands the case. It is good, that authors should be remunerated; and the least exceptionable way of remunerating them is by a monopoly. Yet monopoly is an evil. For the sake of the good we must submit to the evil; but the evil ought not to last a day longer than is necessary for the purpose of securing the good.