Quotes About Ethics

Can a man possessing conciousness ever really respect himself?

To me it seems that liberty and virtue were made for each other. If any man wish to enslave his country, nothing is a fitter preparative than vice; and nothing leads to vice so surely as irreligion.

To act with doubleness towards a man whose own conduct was double, was so near an approach to virtue that it deserved to be called by no meaner name than diplomacy.

A man's intentions should be allowed in some respects to plead for his actions.

The gods hate unjust men.

By twice born men a widow must not be appointed to ,cohabit with any other ,than her husband , for they who appoint ,her to another ,man , will violate the eternal law.

Such truth, as opposeth no man's profit, nor pleasure, is to all men welcome.

Even the best intentioned of great men need a few scoundrels around them; there are some things you cannot ask an honest ma to do.

If it is not tempered by compassion, and empathy, reason can lead men and women into a moral void.

Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well; for as a whole city is affected by the licentious passions and vices of great men, so it is likewise reformed by their moderation.

Nothing but the most exemplary morals can give dignity to a man of small fortune.

Many among men are they who set high the show of honor, yet break justice.

Do you know that the tendrils of graft and corruption have become mighty interlacing roots so that even men who would like to be honest are tripped and trapped by them?

Man is a little bit better than his reputation, and a little bit worse

There are plagues, and there are victims, and it's the duty of good men not to join forces with the plagues.

I have always thought it would be easier to redeem a man steeped in vice and crime than a greedy, narrow-minded, pitiless merchant.

The principles which men give to themselves end by overwhelming their noblest intentions.

Try first to be a man of value; success will follow.

I am strongly drawn to a frugal life and am often oppressively aware that I am engrossing an undue amount of the labor of my fellow men.

I am an absolute pacifist...It is an instinctive feeling. It is a feeling that possesses me, because the murder of men is disgusting.

The thinking man must oppose all cruelties no matter how deeply rooted in tradition or surrounded by a halo.

Can any reasonable man be well disposed toward a government which makes war and carnage the only means of supporting itself?

He [Napoleon] was as great as a man can be without morality.

The man who gives his own decisions priority over society is a criminal.