"All a man's affairs become diseased when he wishes to cure evils by evils"

When faced with wrongdoing or adversity, there is a powerful temptation to respond in kind, answering deception with dishonesty, force with force, or hatred with hatred. Such responses, though immediately satisfying or seemingly just, carry hidden dangers. Sophocles warns that to attempt to remedy evil by using evil methods is to invite greater ruin into one’s life. Far from being a cure, answering vice with vice spreads the infection, it corrodes relationships, turns justice into vengeance, and diminishes both victim and perpetrator.

Human affairs, whether love, ambition, politics, or friendship, are delicate systems bound by trust, dignity, and ethics. Introducing malice, even with the intent to correct or punish wrongs, undermines these foundations. The consequences might not be immediate, but over time, harsher attitudes and actions take root. Retaliation grows more vicious, suspicion replaces goodwill, and cycles of harm perpetuate. Instead of alleviating suffering, responding with similar evils multiplies the original harms, ensnaring both parties in bitterness and regret.

Sophocles’ insight captures a central paradox of morality and justice. Genuine healing and resolution demand that wrongs be confronted with patience, understanding, or legitimate justice, not reciprocal wrongdoing. Kindness, honesty, and restraint repair what malice destroys, while violence begets more violence. A society, or an individual, that chooses the path of “evil for evil” may win battles, but ultimately loses its integrity and peace. Moral progress requires recognizing that true justice cannot be achieved through unjust means.

By resisting the seductive urge to fight fire with fire, one preserves not only personal virtue but the very fabric of a healthy society. The wisdom lies in breaking the chain of retribution, choosing restorative responses over destructive ones. In doing so, affairs remain ‘healthy’, free from the festering ills that vengeance and duplicity breed, allowing space for resolution, growth, and enduring harmony.