Quotes About Ethics

Current religiosity and ethics, especially those that replace the story of the cross with demands for social reform, have produced many a theology of glory. It still flourishes along with its attendant despair. There is no cure through the law. It will take some dying. So we are already on the way to the cross.

Murder is a crime. Describing murder is not. Sex is not a crime. Describing sex is.

It is awfully important to know what is and what is not your business.

You are so afraid of losing your moral sense that you are not willing to take it through anything more dangerous than a mud-puddle.

The same principle that forbids me to lie does not allow me to tell the truth.

Cheating is a sin, but honest cunning is simply prudence. It is a virtue. To be sure, it has a likeness to roguery, but that cannot be helped. He who has not learned to practice it is a fool.

People are ashamed, not of the injustices they do, but of those they receive. And so, in order that the unjust person should be ashamed, there is no other way than to give as good as one gets.

Tu dubiti se ci sia lecito di morire senza necessità: io ti domando se ci è lecito di essere infelici. ( Dialogo di Plotino e di Porfirio )

Dico che il mondo è una lega di birbanti contro gli uomini dabbene, di vili contro i generosi.

Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore, non feci mai male ad anima viva!

Insomma, da tutto ciò che si è in quest'opera ragionato, è da finalmente conchiudersi che questa scienza porta indivisibilmente seco lo studio della pietà, e che, se non siesi pio, non si può daddovero esser saggio, SN 1112

Power – any form of power – is acceptable only if it's transparent and clean, if it's exercised in a way that is equal for everybody.

Each of us, over the years, creates a character for ourselves. One we identify with, which corresponds to a positive idea of ourselves, which encapsulates the qualities we like to think we have. Your character, the one you've created for yourself, the one you identify with, has, among its various characteristics, one that could be described like this: He's a criminal lawyer, therefore he defends criminals, but not those who've committed heinous and disgusting crimes.

My grandfather often quoted it, and said that the rule of moral balance is the opposite of the behaviour described in that sentence. It means not lying to ourselves about the significance of, and the reasons for, what we do and what we don't do. It means not looking for justifications, not manipulating the account we make of ourselves to anyone, including ourselves.

quella che il giusto prova davanti alla colpa commessa da altrui, e gli rimorde che esista, che sia stata introdotta irrevocabilmente nel mondo delle cose che esistono, e che la sua volontà buona sia stata nulla o scarsa, e non abbia valso a difesa".

As we shall see below, without that tinge of moral remorse, however, there would have been no catharsis, and therefore no surviving culture.

It's easy to do what is not good And things that harm oneself. It's very difficult to do Things beneficial and good.

No Galahad, he still cherished the conviction that women, with rare exceptions, were either "good" or "bad".

We are justified in enforcing good morals, for they belong to all mankind but we are not justified in enforcing good manners, for good manners always mean our own manners.

Very few reputations are gained by unsullied virtue.

A new philosophy generally means in practice the praise of some old vice.

The most dangerous criminal now is the entirely lawless modern philosopher. Compared to him, burglars and bigamists are essentially moral men.

Men may keep a sort of level of good, but no man has ever been able to keep on one level of evil.

Men are moved most by their religion; especially when it is irreligion.