Quotes About Integrity

Half the troubles in life come from pretending to oneself that one is a better and finer human being than one is';

I worry that when you start quoting Machiavelli to justify your actions, you have ceased to be one of the good guys. No, quoting Nietzsche does that. Machiavelli is just cool.

There are some things more important than physical survival. You gotta be able to look at yourself in the mirror.

We aren't the good guys, Anita. We're the necessary guys. -Edward

I am always sincere, ma petite, even when I lie. - Jean Claude

If they cheat, can I shoot them?

I worry that when you start quoting Machiavelli to justify your actions, you have ceased to be one of the good guys.

If I let you get killed, the other bodyguards will make fun of me.

I don't want him hurt because he got out of hand with me. Yet you would have shot him. I shrugged. I never said I was consistent, just serious.

I'd made sure I knew his name. You shouldn't ask people to die for you if you don't at least know their name.

It's not the fur or the fangs that make you a monster, not always. Sometimes, it's just where you draw the line.

Morals aren't just for when it's easy, Anita. They aren't morals if you throw them aside every time it's convenient.

It was after 2:00 A.M. before we got back to the graveyard. The Feds had kept us forever, like they didn't believe we were telling them the whole truth. Fancy that. I hated being accused of concealing evidence when I wasn't. Made me want to lie to them just so they wouldn't be disappointed.

To deny the darkness of yourself is to deny half of who you are, and when you love, truly love, you need to love the whole person; not just the part that smiles and waves, but the part that thinks murderous thoughts and knows that pain is both pleasure and temptation...but still thinks puppies are really cute.

It's not about being able to do something, Rocco. It's not even about thinking about doing it. It's not even about being tempted to go too far. [...] It's about deciding not to do it. It's about being tempted but not giving in. It isn't our abilities that make us evil, Sergeant, it's giving in to them.

I had to practice this line to use with people who come to signings and things: 'I'm sorry, I don't have sex with strangers.' --Laurell K. Hamilton, www.locusmag.com/2000/Issues/09/Hamil...

Some of the most deeply moral people I knew were least politically correct, because they actually worried about good and evil, not just what they were told was good or bad.

He whispered, "More than life, more than honor, I love thee." What do you say when a man whose entire existence had been his honor offers to give it up for you? You say the only thing you can. "More than any crown or throne or title, I love thee," I said. "More than any power in faerie, I love thee." The

I didn't say anything because I didn't have anything good to say. Just lately I had noticed that I could kill people and not blink. No attack of conscience, no nightmares, nothing. It was like some part of me had turned off. It didn't bother me that I was able to kill so easily. It did bother me that it didn't bother me. But it had its uses, like tonight. I think every last furry one of them had believed I'd do it. Sometimes, it was good to be scary.

I had to practice this line to use with people who come to signings and things: 'I'm sorry, I don't have sex with strangers.' Interview at Locus magazine, 2000

Because if someone is determined to do something evil there's really no stopping them. It's not the music they listen to, in the television or movies they watch, or video games they play, or even the books they read.

My father had taught me to be nice first, because you can always be mean later, but once you've been mean to someone, they won't believe the nice anymore. So be nice, be nice until it's time to stop being nice, then destroy them.

There was something a little frightening about a man who knew he was not a nice person and didn't give a damn. It went against everything America holds dear.

Silence is not a lie. A sin of omission, but not a lie.