One does evil enough when one does nothing good.

The proverb argues that morality is not only about refraining from bad acts but also about actively doing good. It treats “doing nothing good” as a form of wrongdoing because it allows preventable harm, injustice, or suffering to persist. The statement collapses the comfortable distinction between “I didn’t cause it” and “I could have helped,” implying that ethical life includes positive obligations—care, aid, and intervention when one reasonably can. Its force lies in shifting attention from intention to consequence: inaction can have effects as real as action. As a maxim, it encourages responsibility, solidarity, and a more demanding standard of virtue than mere non-maleficence.