The Delphic Maxims mention “evil” twice, first as something to be hated, and secondly as something to be abstained from.
But what, precisely is evil?
evil (adj.)
Old English yfel (Kentish evel) “bad, vicious, ill, wicked,” from Proto-Germanic *ubilaz (cf. Old Saxon ubil, Old Frisian and Middle Dutch evel, Dutch euvel, Old High German ubil, German übel, Gothic ubils), from PIE *upelo-, from root *wap- (cf. Hittite huwapp- “evil”).“In OE., as in all the other early Teut. langs., exc. Scandinavian, this word is the most comprehensive adjectival expression of disapproval, dislike or disparagement” [OED]. Evil was the word the Anglo-Saxons used where we would use bad, cruel, unskillful, defective (adj.), or harm, crime, misfortune, disease (n.). The meaning “extreme moral wickedness” was in Old English, but did not become the main sense until 18c. Related: Evilly. Evil eye (Latin oculus malus) was Old English eage yfel. Evilchild is attested as an English surname from 13c.
source: Online Etymology Dictionary
According to Merriam-Webster, evil is an adjective to describe something as “morally reprehensible” or “causing harm”, and a noun for “the fact of suffering, misfortune, and wrong doing” or the something that causes it. Extreme moral wickedness…or just the stuff we don’t like. What is or is not evil seems awfully personal.
Back in November, I discussed Delphic Maxim #136, Gratify without harming, and touched on the idea of evil:
Evil tends to be an interesting subject in Pagan communities. Views of what constitutes “evil” as a definition and as an action or behavior vary, but tend to emphasize the “I know it when I see it” subjectiveness of the idea of evil. Of the many discussions (online and IRL) that I have encountered on the topic, my favorite definition comes from an essay on the Wiccan Rede from Proteus Coven–evil is a rip in the fabric of empathy.
All of this really leads me to sometimes think that either everything might be evil (either that, or nothing is)–after all, everything has the capacity to directly inflict harm and misfortune on someone, somewhere. No one lives in a vacuum and even the most altruistic of acts is going to have a downside somewhere down the line (Newton’s Third Law–every action has an equal and opposite reaction, sometimes I think it applies to more than physics). And if everything is evil, perhaps it all cancels out, and nothing is more evil than the next, except in the context of the beholder.
When I ran these two maxims through Google Translate, the result I got was “hate wickedness” and “abstain from wickedness”. Wickedness certainly is implied in the dictionary definitions for “evil”, and indeed, definitions of “wickedness” include the description of “evil”. But I like the word “wickedness” better than that of “evil”–it isn’t as loaded of a term. When we think of evil in its usage, it often to carry an additional subtext–either as an absolute that is part of a moral dichotomy (good vs evil), or as some Supernatural Big Bad Being.
Ultimately, I have to say that evil isn’t supernatural. It isn’t a moral absolute, or the opposite of good. Evil isn’t a specific action or person or event. Evil can’t be defined. But it does exist. Evil happens, and it isn’t everything, or nothing.
Evil is a rip in the fabric of empathy.
Now…I guess I just need to take the time to discuss what the heck that means!!
bay witch musings 
Wow – it is a doozy of a word. I guess I had assumed (what is probably a very individual) meaning any time I used it. Admittedly I don’t use the word much as I find it a bit dramatic – kind of a mountain next to “thoughtless”. I guess that shows that I consider an act of evil to be an act of pure selfishness (surely to encroach on another’s personal rights and freedoms) and therefore a person who is evil is a person who purpetrates these acts (sociopath!?). I noticed that when reporting on acts of terror the word is always used (and rarely outside of that) by political leaders. They seem to also assume a similar meaning upon the word. This would definitely fit with that beautiful description “Evil is a rip in the fabric of empathy”.
I agree with the thought on Newton’s Third Law too – lol I’ll sound silly here but I feel that, if I should ever be in the position, I should feel a lot more sophisticated stating to someone that Newton’s third law will come into effect for them…rather than “karma dude” or the more Christian version “you reap what you sow” approach….I just feel that arguing with physics is a lot more difficult and most of the people who enact ‘evil’ upon others would have to Google Newton’s Law to figure out what you were talking about.
I wanted to ask you as well…I read somewhere ages ago that Wiccan/Pagan (although these terms are misused in a lot of literature) beliefs often include the idea that whatever you send out into the world will return threefold, do you know if this is quite common a belief or even true?
I like to study up on philosophy (religion, science, thoughts on life-the universe-and-everything) and follow the golden threads that weave throughout them all and it seems the idea of Newton’s Third Law is one of these.
It is only 7:15am here and you’ve got me contemplating the universe lol Well done you 🙂
I though I replied to this right after you wrote it, but then I remembered that (after I wrote everything) and hit “reply” that it got eaten and I then was distracted by children…le sigh.
I had a whole schpiel of a response (and thanks, because that some good food for thought too!), but I’m not well caffinated this morning, so I’ll stick to answering this part “I read somewhere ages ago that Wiccan/Pagan (although these terms are misused in a lot of literature) beliefs often include the idea that whatever you send out into the world will return threefold, do you know if this is quite common a belief or even true?”
So, the idea of “Three-fold Return” or the “Rule of Three” as they are usually termed are fairly popular, more so among Wiccans. While most Pagans (in my experience) tend to favor ideas of Westernized “karma”. Some folks believe in the Rule of Three as a literal thing, others more as a symbolic one. Often the Rule of Three is accompanied by the idea of “Harm None” (generally among Wiccans), which also has a range of interpretations. I believe in a “you reap what you sow” philosophy, but not as some sort of Divine justice or Universal law sort of thing, more just as common sense.
Thank you – Oddly enough I was asked about this the other day by a young girl who has been brought up on a lot of popularised ideas through TV and movies/books that are generally based only very vaguely (if at all) on the reality of the belief.
I am not caffinated this morning yet either so shall leave it there before I start waxing lyrical about the merits or pitfalls of popular culture lol