Quotes About Morality

What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.

Truth does not depart from human nature. If what isregarded as truth departs from human nature, it maynot be regarded as truth.

The Master said, "When you meet persons of exceptional character think to stand shoulder to shoulder with them; meeting persons of little character, look inward and examine yourself.

Staying with good people is like entering a room with orchids. You won't notice the fragrance, but you'll be soaked in the scent. Staying with evil people is just like going inside a stinky fish store. You won't smell it after a while because you will blend with the stench. Keep red things and you'll turn red. Keep lacquer, and you'll turn black ...So a wise man should be careful of where he stays...

you govern effectively," Confucius replied, "what need is there for killing? If you want to be truly adept (shan ), the people will also be adept. The excellence (de ) of the exemplary person (junzi ) is the wind, while that of the petty person is the grass. As the wind blows, the grass is sure to bend.

The junzi's stance towards the world is this: there is nothing he insists on, nothing he refuses, he simply aligns himself beside right.

A wise man is never cheated, a virtuous man is never worried and a courageous man is never afraid.

The gentleman understands what is moral. The small man understands what is profitable.

The philosopher Zeng said, I daily examine myself on three points: whether, in transacting business for others, I may have been not faithful; whether, in intercourse with friends, I may have been not sincere; whether I may have not mastered and practiced the instructions of my teacher.

Conscience is like a pet: If you spoil it by too much attention it'll start yipping at the most inopportune times.

They make you settle for second best. That's what I like about the movies. There's always some minor character standing round to tell you the moral, just in case you're too dumb to figure it out for yourself. You never get what you want.

Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy'?

It takes very little to govern good people. Very little. And bad people cant be governed at all. Or if they could I never heard of it.

I don't know what sort of world she will live in and I have no fixed opinions concerning how she should live in it. I only know that if she does not come to value what is true above what is useful, it will make little difference whether she lives at all.

When the shooting starts would you rather be armed or legal?

We wouldnt ever eat anybody, would we? No. Of course not. Even if we were starving? We're starving now. You said we werent. I said we werent dying. I didnt say we werent starving. But we wouldnt. No. We wouldnt. No matter what. No. No matter what. Because we're the good guys. Yes. And we're carrying the fire. And we're carrying the fire. Yes. Okay.

He thought that in the history of the world it might even be that there was more punishment than crime but he took small comfort from it.

You think people was meaner then than they are now? the deputy said. The old man was looking out at the flooded town. No, he said. I don't. I think people are the same from the day God first made one.

Even a nonbeliever might find it useful to model himself after God. Very useful, in fact.

How do I know you're one of the good guys? You dont. You'll have to take a shot. Are you carrying the fire? Am I what? Carrying the fire. You're kind of weirded out, arent you? No. Just a little. Yeah. That's okay. So are you? What, carrying the fire? Yes. Yeah, We are.

How can you believe in heaven if you don't believe in hell?

Moral law is an invention of mankind for the disenfranchisement of the powerful in favor of the weak.

It takes very little to govern good people.

Without malefactors the world of the righteous is robbed of all meaning.