Quotations and Literature Forum

How oft dost the site of evil things cause evil things be done?

I thought this was shakespear, yet I cannot find it. And I am sure that I have the quote misquoted. Can anyone help?

A.

I don't know where it's from, but maybe I can offer some help: I'm pretty sure that "site" should be "sight" in this quotation. Doesn't sound like Shakespeare, but it does sound like the early Greeks, especially Aristotle, in describing the purposes of art (to instruct and delight). They believed in depicting only heroic deeds because seeing evil might make people do evil. (Show people something bad, and they will do it -- a lot of folks still argue this today. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.) So you might want to check Aristotle's Poetics--the concept is there whether the exact quotation is or not.

Hope this helps.

I thought it was a reference to <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/">the site of evil things</a>.

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Michael Moncur
Owner and maintainer, The Quotations Page

Chuckle.

That direct quote doesn't seem to be anywhere...

This, he said, and cut down to such heroic son of Atreus, far-ruling Agamemnon, burning annoyed, passion filling his heart with blackness eyes burning like fire. Kalchas first with a threatening look he addressed: "Prophet of evils, never did you tell me the truth. Always is your heart fond of evil things to be prophesied. You never yet speak any good word...."
~apparently attributed to The Iliad of Homer at
http://www.blainn.cc/classics/iliad.html

Unfortunately, the people who cannot accept that someone will just do evil things to be evil, blamed Stephanie for Ted's crimes because she broke up with him. However, Ted's murders did not start until he persuaded Stephanie to become his fiancee and then dumped her.
~referring to serial killer Ted Bundy at
http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/2813 ... fted3.html

Moreover, some causes are said to cause by doing [something], others by not doing [anything] - and sometimes not only by not doing [anything] but also by not even existing. For he who does not prevent evil things is said to cause them to be, and he who does not cause good things is said to cause them not to be. Similarly, just as when learning is present it causes good things to be and evil things not to be, so when learning is not present, it is said to cause, by its absence, evil things to be and good things not to be. However, causes of this last kind are included among those which are said to cause by not doing [anything].
~Anselm of Canterbury

The Kuna (natives to Panama). believe “poni” are evil spirits that cause evil things to happen to them. They paint little wooden dolls red in the belief that these will ward off evil spirits.