"Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to the core"
- Hannah Arendt
About this Quote
This quote by Hannah Arendt speaks to the complexity of evil and the concept that it is not constantly easy to identify. She recommends that criminal offense and crooks can be perplexing and hard to understand, but that the real danger depends on the hypocrite. The hypocrite is somebody who seems excellent on the outside, but is rotten to the core. This is a cautioning to be familiar with those who may be hiding their true intentions and to be cautious of those who might be pretending to be something they are not. It is a suggestion to be mindful of the people we trust and to be aware of the capacity for wicked to lurk beneath the surface.