{
  "type": "author",
  "site": {
    "name": "Leafy Quotes",
    "language": "en",
    "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com"
  },
  "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.",
  "name": "M. Scott Peck",
  "slug": "m-scott-peck",
  "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck",
  "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck.json",
  "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck.md",
  "image": null,
  "quotes_count": 19,
  "books": [
    {
      "title": "The Different Drum",
      "slug": "the-different-drum",
      "quotes_count": 2,
      "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/cornerstone-digital/m-scott-peck/the-different-drum_978-14-4810-708-7-c8631fb8.webp",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-different-drum"
    },
    {
      "title": "The People Of The Lie",
      "slug": "the-people-of-the-lie",
      "quotes_count": 12,
      "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/cornerstone-digital/m-scott-peck/the-people-of-the-lie_978-14-4810-668-4-a36561e1.webp",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-people-of-the-lie"
    },
    {
      "title": "The Road Less Travelled",
      "slug": "the-road-less-travelled",
      "quotes_count": 5,
      "cover": "https://quivercdn.com/covers/arrow/m-scott-peck/the-road-less-travelled_978-00-9972-740-8.jpg",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-road-less-travelled"
    }
  ],
  "recent_quotes": [
    {
      "id": "c1865327-c0f3-4bce-aea4-b999732af048",
      "slug": "the-only-power",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-people-of-the-lie/the-only-power",
      "text": "The only power that Satan has is through human belief in its lies.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": 237,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "lies",
          "slug": "lies",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#People_of_the_Lie:_The_Hope_for_Healing_Human_Evil_(1983)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:42"
    },
    {
      "id": "b55c5244-1fb0-4510-9632-78de8155b85e",
      "slug": "the-problem-of-evil",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-different-drum/the-problem-of-evil",
      "text": "The problem of evil is perhaps the most fundamental of all human problems.\n\nTrue community is always in a state of almost constant terror at the problem of human evil.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "evil",
          "slug": "evil",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/evil"
        },
        {
          "name": "community",
          "slug": "community",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/community"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#The_Different_Drum:_Community_Making_and_Peace_(1987)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:42"
    },
    {
      "id": "7bac56fe-e503-4249-a987-b5e088b4612a",
      "slug": "the-only-real",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-different-drum/the-only-real",
      "text": "The only real route to peace is through self-purification. We must purge ourselves of our own pride, our need to control, and our unwillingness to suffer for the sake of others. Peacemaking begins inside each of us.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": 275,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "pride",
          "slug": "pride",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pride"
        },
        {
          "name": "peace",
          "slug": "peace",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/peace"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#The_Different_Drum:_Community_Making_and_Peace_(1987)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:42"
    },
    {
      "id": "1af57838-93a8-4622-a8a7-4b88507b4229",
      "slug": "i-know-no-more",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-people-of-the-lie/i-know-no-more",
      "text": "I know no more accurate epithet for Satan than the Father of Lies.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": 237,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "lies",
          "slug": "lies",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#People_of_the_Lie:_The_Hope_for_Healing_Human_Evil_(1983)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:42"
    },
    {
      "id": "fafd96cf-2dda-4042-9e2d-9dfec3714302",
      "slug": "compartmentalization-is-not",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-people-of-the-lie/compartmentalization-is-not",
      "text": "Compartmentalization is not the root of all evil; it is, however, the principal psychological mechanism of evil. Deprive an evil man of his capacity to compartmentalize, and he will be like a general without an army. Or better yet, he will undergo a conversion to goodness — a conversion to integrity.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": 101,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "evil",
          "slug": "evil",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/evil"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#People_of_the_Lie:_The_Hope_for_Healing_Human_Evil_(1983)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:41"
    },
    {
      "id": "df88e68e-f479-4b42-a747-340b63d93d10",
      "slug": "evil-can-be-thought",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-people-of-the-lie/evil-can-be-thought",
      "text": "Evil can be thought of as the exercise of political power — that is, the imposition of one’s will upon others by overt or covert coercion in order to avoid extending oneself for the purpose of nurturing spiritual growth.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": 89,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "power",
          "slug": "power",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/power"
        },
        {
          "name": "evil",
          "slug": "evil",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/evil"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#People_of_the_Lie:_The_Hope_for_Healing_Human_Evil_(1983)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:41"
    },
    {
      "id": "c69a3e44-0314-429e-9bc3-ccc4cee9d0e4",
      "slug": "evil-is-that",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-people-of-the-lie/evil-is-that",
      "text": "Evil is that force ... residing either inside or outside of human beings, that seeks to kill life or liveliness.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": null,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "evil",
          "slug": "evil",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/evil"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#People_of_the_Lie:_The_Hope_for_Healing_Human_Evil_(1983)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:41"
    },
    {
      "id": "c5880542-eaa4-4489-91a0-3b00394669b5",
      "slug": "my-favorite-definition",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-people-of-the-lie/my-favorite-definition",
      "text": "My favorite definition of evil is that it is militant ignorance.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": 178,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "evil",
          "slug": "evil",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/evil"
        },
        {
          "name": "stupidity",
          "slug": "stupidity",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/stupidity"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#People_of_the_Lie:_The_Hope_for_Healing_Human_Evil_(1983)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:41"
    },
    {
      "id": "a05e4032-46bd-4d12-8963-e117a66b05f6",
      "slug": "the-spirit-of-evil",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-people-of-the-lie/the-spirit-of-evil",
      "text": "The spirit of evil is one of unreality, but it itself is real. To think otherwise is to be misled.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": 208,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "evil",
          "slug": "evil",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/evil"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#People_of_the_Lie:_The_Hope_for_Healing_Human_Evil_(1983)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:41"
    },
    {
      "id": "98644658-3f06-48e0-8f48-7f7bf465e244",
      "slug": "most-people-who",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-road-less-travelled/most-people-who",
      "text": "Most people who seek psychotherapy are suffering from a sense of personal inadequacy. Yet there are always a few whose problem is just the opposite: they suffer because they cannot accept their greatness. Perhaps ten percent of my patients have had to come to terms not with their inferiority but with their superiority. To accept one's legitimate talents without guilt or fear is as much a responsibility as to accept one's faults.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": 63,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "talent",
          "slug": "talent",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/talent"
        },
        {
          "name": "self-acceptance",
          "slug": "self-acceptance",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-acceptance"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#The_Road_Less_Travelled:_A_New_Psychology_of_Love,_Traditional_Values_and_Spiritual_Growth_(1978)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:41"
    },
    {
      "id": "85ecd80d-ef00-4d89-aecf-61ad978fc272",
      "slug": "whenever-the-roles",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-people-of-the-lie/whenever-the-roles",
      "text": "Whenever the roles of individuals within a group become specialized, it becomes both possible and easy for the individual to pass the moral buck to some other part of the group. In this way, not only does the individual forsake his conscience but the conscience of the group as a whole can become so fragmented and diluted as to be nonexistent.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": 249,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "responsibility",
          "slug": "responsibility",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/responsibility"
        },
        {
          "name": "conscience",
          "slug": "conscience",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/conscience"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#People_of_the_Lie:_The_Hope_for_Healing_Human_Evil_(1983)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:41"
    },
    {
      "id": "4f43e43e-3efa-4c01-b33d-8b854cc86b25",
      "slug": "mental-health-is-an-ongoing",
      "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/m-scott-peck/the-road-less-travelled/mental-health-is-an-ongoing",
      "text": "Mental health is an ongoing process of dedication to reality at all costs.",
      "language": "en",
      "character": null,
      "chapter": null,
      "chapter_parent": null,
      "page": 51,
      "verified": false,
      "original": null,
      "other_languages": [],
      "topics": [
        {
          "name": "reality",
          "slug": "reality",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/reality"
        },
        {
          "name": "psychology",
          "slug": "psychology",
          "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/psychology"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "name": "Wikiquote",
        "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/M._Scott_Peck#The_Road_Less_Travelled:_A_New_Psychology_of_Love,_Traditional_Values_and_Spiritual_Growth_(1978)",
        "license": {
          "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
          "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
        }
      },
      "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:05:41"
    }
  ]
}
