logo

Quotes About Motives

Negroes, like other people, act upon motives. Why should they do anything for us, if we will do nothing for them? If they stake their lives for us, they must be prompted by the strongest motive, even the promise of freedom. And the promise being made, must be kept.
~ Unknown
Whatever motive a man or a set of men may have for making annexation of property or territory, it is very easy to assert, but much less easy to disprove, that it is necessary for the wants of the country.
~ Unknown
I would like to write a novel, or at least try to write one, although my motives are not entirely pure. For one thing, I get asked about writing novels so much that I feel guilty about never having written one. And although I have no strong desire to write a novel, I would hate not to try. That would just be silly. On the other hand, I hate the idea of slogging through something that turns out to be not good.
~ Unknown
In fact, because the unself-aware—which includes basically everybody—are impervious to uncharitable perceptions of their underlying motives, all these insights you have into people and what makes them tick are surprisingly useless.
~ Lionel Shriver
Oh, very simple," Derek jeered. "It doesn't matter that I was born a bastard. She deserves nothing better than a man with a false name, fine clothes, and a sham accent. It's not important that I have no family and no religion. I don't believe in sacred causes, or honor, or unselfish motives. I can't be innocent enough for her. I never was. But why should that matter to her?
~ Lisa Kleypas
Circumstances of crimes vary. So do motives. And so do prospects for rehabilitation. The number of imponderables makes it impossible to sentence by formula and still sentence justly.
~ Robert Kennedy
Is water the next oil? Motives behind the question vary, depending on who asks the question. Those who see water as a future core commodity - therefore as profitable a prospect as oil - pose the question to create the right market conditions for water trade.
~ Rohini Nilekani
Maybe its time for politicians to fight back a little bit in terms of this notion that politicians are all in it for themselves, we're all the same, we're not driven by sincere motives. Because the fact of the matter is the vast majority are.
~ Nicola Sturgeon
I had never written anything. And I had never studied writing. So my motives were pure: I had a great story... a courtroom drama that I sort of fictionalized, and that became 'A Time to Kill.'
~ John Grisham
If celebs try to do something good, people think it is a publicity stunt and if they do without showing it, they don't get credit.
~ Badshah
If you let a person talk long enough, you'll hear their true intentions.
~ Tupac Shakur
Many Christians stay busy and avoid solitude because they fear what God will show them regarding their motives and affections.
~ Unknown
Wizard's Second Rule The greatest harm can result from the best intentions.
~ Terry Goodkind
With the exception of the instinct of self-preservation, the propensity for emulation is probably the strongest and most alert and persistent of the economic motives proper.
~ Thorstein Veblen
wants to have it both ways, rather like big corporations that give to charity and then try to reap PR benefits by hyping their altruism in their ads.
~ David Foster Wallace
When a fool sees himself as he is, then he is a fool no longer; and when a wise man learns of his own wisdom, then he becomes a fool." This caused me great trouble, for it seemed mere word play. But after many years I have come to this conclusion: that only in certainty is there moral danger. Doubt is the gift we must cherish, for it forces us to question our motives constantly. It guides us to truth.
~ David Gemmell
Adversity promotes the progress of the gospel. 2. Adversity provides opportunities to witness. 3. Adversity produces courage in our fellow believers. 4. Adversity proves the character of our friendships. 5. Adversity provokes growth in our lives. 6. Adversity purifies our motives. 7. Adversity prepares us to see life and death in perspective.
~ David Jeremiah
Most killers, in a nutshell, are not crazy. They kill for specific reasons, such as lust, greed, envy, fear, revenge, status, and reputation, or to get rid of someone who they perceive is inflicting costs on them. They are like you. They are like me.
~ David M. Buss
Studies that compare men's and women's motives for affairs invariably find that "sex," pure and simple, is a more dominant motive for men. It doesn't necessarily mean they don't love their wives.
~ David M. Buss
perhaps he and this man, alone on the desert, driven there by life's mysterious and remorseless motive, were to see each other through God's eyes. His
~ Zane Grey
Sometimes it is difficult to understand why some players have certain agents.
~ Roberto Mancini
Amit a moralisták az emberi szív mélységeinek neveznek, voltaképpen csalóka gondolatok, az egyéni érdek önkéntelen rezdülései. Ezek a lelki bonyodalmak, amelyekr?l annyi üres szó esik, ezek a hirtelen pálfordulások, nem egyebek élvezeteink javára végzett számításoknál.
~ Honore de Balzac
La flatterie n'émane jamais des grandes âmes, elle est l'apanage des petits esprits qui réussissent à se rapetisser encore pour mieux entrer dans la sphère vitale de la personne autour de laquelle ils gravitent. La flatterie sous-entend un intérêt.
~ Honore de Balzac
When a woman wants to betray her husband, her actions are almost invariably studied but they are never reasoned.
~ Honore de Balzac