The World Is in Greater Peril from Those Who Tolerate or Encourage Evil Than from Those Who Actually Commit It

Albert Einstein? Pablo Casals? Josep Maria Corredor? Paul S. Reichler? Robert I. Fitzhenry? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: A family of sayings about the unwise toleration of evil has been attributed to the famous scientist Albert Einstein. Here are five examples:

(1) The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.

(2) The world is too dangerous to live in, not because of people’s evil deeds but because of those who sit and let it happen.

(3) The world is a dangerous place not because there are so many evil people in it, but because there are so many good ones willing to sit back and let evil happen.

(4) The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm. It’s dangerous because of those who watch and do nothing.

(5) The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.

I am skeptical of these ascriptions because there are so may variants, and I have never seen a solid citation for any of these statements. Would you please explore this topic?

Quote Investigator: In 1955 Josep Maria Corredor published a book in French about the prominent Spanish cellist Pablo Casals titled “Conversations avec Pablo Casals: souvenirs et opinions d’un musicien”. The book employed an interview format to present commentary from Casals on a variety of topics. In addition, Corredor gathered and printed opinions about Casals from several well-known individuals including Albert Einstein.

Editions of this popular book were issued in other languages. In 1956 an English translation by André Mangeot was published as “Conversations with Casals”. The section containing opinions about Casals began with the following assertion:

We would like to take this opportunity of expressing our gratitude for the opinions reproduced below, which were sent direct by the people concerned.

Thus, the remark from Albert Einstein was based on a note sent from Einstein to the creator of the book. The original German text of the note appears further below. Here is the English rendition. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:^[1]1957 (1956 Copyright), Conversations with Casals by J. Ma Corredor, Translated from French to English by André Mangeot, Section: Preface, Quote Page 11, A Dutton Everyman Paperback: E. P. Dutton and … Continue reading

Albert Einstein: It is certainly unnecessary to await my voice in acclaiming Pablo Casals as a very great artist, since all who are qualified to speak are unanimous on this subject. What I particularly admire in him is the firm stand he has taken, not only against the oppressors of his countrymen, but also against those opportunists who are always ready to compromise with the Devil. He perceives very clearly that the world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.

QI conjectures that the variant quotations listed at the beginning of this article were derived from Einstein’s statement in the book about Casals. Yet, it remains possible that Einstein made a separate statement in this family which QI has not yet discovered.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Here is the German text of Albert Einstein’s 1953 letter which is located in the Albert Einstein Archives at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem:^[2]Website: Zitatforschung (Quote Research), Website author: Gerald Krieghofer, Quotation under analysis: The world is not threatened by the people who are evil, but by those who allow evil, Date on … Continue reading

Die Wertschätzung Pablo Casals als grossen Künstler braucht fürwahr nicht auf mich zu warten, denn hierin herrscht Einstimmigkeit unter den Auguren. Was ich aber an ihm besonders bewundere ist seine charaktervolle Haltung nicht nur gegen die Unterdrücker seines Volkes, sondern auch gegen alle diejenigen Opportunisten, die immer bereit sind, mit dem Teufel zu paktieren. Er hat klar erkannt, dass die Welt mehr bedroht ist durch die, welche das Uebel dulden oder ihm Vorschub leisten, als durch die Uebeltäter selbst.

Here is the French version of Einstein’s quotation which appeared in “Conversations avec Pablo Casals” in 1955:^[3]1982 (Originally published by Albin Michel of Paris in 1955), Conversations avec Pablo Casals: souvenirs et opinions d’un musicien by J. Ma Corredor (Josep Maria Corredor), Quote Page 51, … Continue reading

« Il n’était certes pas nécessaire d’attendre ma voix pour proclamer en Pablo Casals un très grand artiste, car à cet égard les avis autorisés sont unanimes.

« Ce que j’admire cependant particulièrement en lui, c’est sa ferme attitude non seulement à l’endroit des oppresseurs de son peuple, mais également à l’endroit des opportunistes toujours prêts à pactiser avec le diable.

« Il a su comprendre avec beaucoup de clairvoyance que le monde court un plus grand danger de la part de ceux qui tolèrent le mal ou l’encouragent que de la part de ceux-là mêmes qui le commettent. »

Albert Einstein died in 1955.

In 1957 the German magazine “Der Spiegel” (“The Mirror”) published a piece about Pablo Casals which included the first sentence from Einstein’s letter. Here is the German followed by a rendering in English:^[4]Website: Der Spiegel (The Mirror), Article title: Don Quijotes Wiederkehr (Don Quixote’s return), Date on website: April 16, 1957, Website description: Website and archive of general interest … Continue reading

Musikliebhaber Albert Einstein drückte sich zum Therma Casals ähnlich, nur viel einfacher aus: »Die Wertschätzung Pablo Casals’ als großen Künstler braucht fürwahr nicht auf mich zu warten, denn hierin herrscht Einstimmigkeit unter den Auguren.«

Music lover Albert Einstein expressed himself similarly to Therma Casals, only in a much simpler way: “The appreciation of Pablo Casals as a great artist certainly does not have to wait for me, because there is unanimity among the seers.”

In February 1978 a newspaper columnist in Mascoutah, Illinois watched a documentary about Martin Luther King. The columnist struggled to remember a quotation that he thought King may have credited to Einstein:^[5] 1978 February 22, The Mascoutah Herald, Those who sit and… by Rube Yelvington, Quote Page 3, Column 1, Mascoutah, Illinois. (Newspapers_com)

“KING” on Channel 5, the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, had Dr. King quoting from Albert Einstein. I tried to remember the quote. I think this is it:

“The world is getting to be too dangerous a place to live in. It is not because of the men who do evil, but those who sit and let it happen.”

In April 1978 two correspondents co-wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper in White Plains, New York. They included a remark they attributed to Einstein:^[6]1978 April 30, Sunday Journal-News, What purpose does the Klan serve? (Letter to the editor from Lynn Bjelland of New City and Joe Hazucha of Upper Nyack), Quote Page 14A, Column 5, White Plains, … Continue reading

As Albert Einstein said, “The world is too dangerous to live in, not because of people’s evil deeds but because of those who sit and let it happen.”

In 1985 “The Cincinnati Enquirer” of Ohio printed a piece by guest columnist Paul S. Reichler who credited Einstein with yet another version of the saying:^[7] 1985 December 22, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Facts Don’t Support Attack On Professor by Paul S. Reichler (Guest Columnist), Quote Page F3, Column 2, Cincinnati, Ohio. (Newspapers_com)

ALBERT EINSTEIN once said that the world is a dangerous place not because there are so many evil people in it, but because there are so many good ones willing to sit back and let evil happen.

In 1993 “The Harper Book of Quotations” edited by Robert I. Fitzhenry included the following entry:^[8] 1993, The Harper Book of Quotations, Third Edition, Edited by Robert I. Fitzhenry, Topic: Politics, Quote Page 356, HarperPerennial: A Division of HarperCollins, New York. (Verified with scans)

The world is a dangerous place to live — not because of the people who are evil but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.
Albert Einstein

In 2008 “If Ignorance Is Bliss, Why Aren’t There More Happy People?: Smart Quotes for Dumb Times” attributed another instance to Einstein:^[9]2008, If Ignorance Is Bliss, Why Aren’t There More Happy People?: Smart Quotes for Dumb Times by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson, Topic: Apathy, Quote Page 15, Harmony Books, New York. (Verified … Continue reading

The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything.
ALBERT EINSTEIN

In 2009 @Hana__M tweeted another version of the evolving phrase while crediting Einstein:^[10] Tweet, From: Hana.M.H @Hana__M, Time: 7:25 AM, Date: October 17, 2009, Text: The world will not be destroyed … (Accessed on twitter.com on May 31, 2022) link

The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch and do nothing.<<< [A.Einstein]

In 2011 “Standard-Times” of San Angelo, Texas published yet another version of the evolving phrase:^[11] 2011 October 21, Standard-Times, Is Wall Street out of touch with Main Street? by Britt Towery, Quote Page 6A, Column 6, San Angelo, Texas. (Newspapers_com)

Albert Einstein knew more than just a little science. He is credited with saying: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, out by those who watch them without doing anything.”

In 2016 a writer on the “HuffPost” platform presented the following instance:^[12]Website: HuffPost, Article title: Haters, the Holocaust and Why We Need Bridges, Not Walls, Article author: By Margie Warrell (Contributor), Author description: Author, Speaker, Women’s … Continue reading

Other times it’s having the guts to speak up and call people out on it. Because as Albert Einstein once said:

“The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm. It’s dangerous because of those who watch and do nothing.”

In conclusion, Albert Einstein who died in 1955 deserves credit for the contents of the 1953 letter he wrote in German which is presented further above. A French translation appeared in “Conversations avec Pablo Casals” in 1955, and an English translation appeared in “Conversations with Casals” in 1956. Distinct but thematically similar remarks began to appear in English by 1978. QI conjectures Einstein’s 1953 statement inspired the evolution of these variants.

(Great thanks to Andrew Robinson, GuIoHmDeRuffi, Ben Yagoda, and Steven Bowker whose inquiries led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Thanks to the volunteer editors of Wikiquote; the discussion webpage for the Albert Einstein webpage at Wikiquote listed valuable information. Special thanks to top researcher Gerald Krieghofer whose website contains an excellent entry on this topic. Krieghofer’s website includes a scan of the crucial 1953 letter from Einstein which resides in the Albert Einstein Archives. Also, thanks to Jutta of Juttas Zitateblog who posted a helpful 2011 webpage about the quotation.)