5 ms·

What an apropos quote! Never seen that one before, good to know it now.

• jessaustin 10y ago
  My reading of the poem is somewhat at odds with the implication of that quote by itself. Overall Yeats seems to be lamenting a particular situation in which the best and worst have these qualities, rather than simply stating that they have these qualities in general.
  • alphapapa 10y ago
    Yes, along the lines of the quote, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."