Quotes About Morality

All men's souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.

Virtue does not come from wealth, but. . . wealth, and every other good thing which men have. . . comes from virtue.

The misuse of language induces evil in the soul

Living well and beautifully and justly are all one thing.

One who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any man, however much we have suffered from him.

A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true.

The true champion of justice, if he intends to survive even for a short time, must necessarily confine himself to private life and leave politics alone.

Neither in war nor yet at law ought any man to use every way of escaping death. For often in battle there is no doubt that if a man will throw away his arms, and fall on his knees before his pursuers, he may escape death; and in other dangers there are other ways of escaping death, if a man is willing to say and do anything. The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death.

It is not difficult to avoid death, gentlemen of the jury; it is much more difficult to avoid wickedness, for it runs faster than death.

A man who really fights for justice must lead a private, not a public, life if he is to survive for even a short time.

Do you feel no compunction, Socrates, at having followed a line of action which puts you in danger of the death penalty?' I might fairly reply to him, 'You are mistaken, my friend, if you think that a man who is worth anything ought to spend his time weighing up the prospects of life and death. He has only one thing to consider in performing any action--that is, whether he is acting rightly or wrongly, like a good man or a bad one.

wealth does not bring goodness, but goodness brings wealth and every other blessing, both to the individual and to the state

You are wrong sir, if you think that a man who is any good at all should take into account the risk of life or death; he should look to this only in his actions, whether what he does is right or wrong.

Man's greatest privilege is the discussion of virtue" Socrates in The Apology.

a good man cannot be harmed either in life or in death, and that his affairs are not neglected by the gods.

No man is capable of causing great evil without thinking he's doing the right thing.

It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong

A man who preserves his integrity no real, long-lasting harm can ever come.

Is something good because the gods approve of it? Or do the gods approve of it because it is good?

I am convinced that I never wrong anyone intentionally...

Once a man knows good from evil, nothing on earth can compel him to act against that knowledge.

You are mistaken, my friend, if you think that a man who is worth anything ought to spend his time weighing up the prospects of life and death. He has only one thing to consider in performing any action; that is, whether he is acting justly or unjustly, like a good man or a bad one.

Justice. If only we knew what it was.

Bad people live that they may eat and drink, whereas good people eat and drink that they may live.