Thomas Mann — Quote from The Magic Mountain
“Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil.”
The Magic Mountain (1924)
Concepts: oppression, agency, rebellion
Resonant Quotes
- “Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless me...” — Paulo Freire, The Politics of Education Mann's tolerance of evil as complicity and Freire's neutrality as siding with the powerful make the identical argumen...
- “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not beco...” — Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil Both quotes grapple with the moral paradox of how righteous opposition to evil can corrupt the opponent, suggesting t...
- “The oppressor would not be so strong if he did not have accomplices among the...” — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex Both authors illuminate how passive complicity with injustice becomes an active form of moral failure, whether throug...
- “Your silence will not protect you.” — Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider Both authors reject passivity in the face of wrong—Mann condemning tolerance of evil as complicity, Lorde warning tha...
- “I rebel; therefore we exist.” — Albert Camus, The Rebel Both assert that moral engagement requires active resistance rather than passive acceptance when confronted with fund...
- “The lust for power is not rooted in strength but in weakness. It is the expre...” — Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom Mann's intolerance of evil and Fromm's diagnosis of power-seeking weakness both recognize that accommodation of destr...
- “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil...” — Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth Both quotes demand active moral engagement rather than passive compliance, with Mann's rejection of tolerating evil c...
- “Colonialism is not a thinking machine, nor a body endowed with reasoning facu...” — Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth Mann's condemnation of tolerance toward evil resonates with Fanon's recognition that violent systems like colonialism...