Quotes About Ethics

What the deuce does religion have to do with being a good minister? It is a profession like any other profession, young man. You fit yourself to the task, and keep your opinions private. That is what all good ministers do—or should!

make mistakes, you must account for them. There will be instances when you must cast aside your impulses and take a higher stance than another person—a person without honor—might take. Such instances may hurt, but that's why honor is a painful field.

These are two things that I have always observed to be in singular accord: supercelestial thoughts and subterranean conduct.

Here is what I do know, however: sins of the flesh will not get you punished in the afterlife. They will only get you punished in this life. As you've now learned.

Nothing living should ever be treated with contempt. Whatever it is that lives, a man, a tree, or a bird, should be touched gently, because the time is short. Civilization is another word for respect for life...

I've never violated any woman." "Have you killed?" He paused at that, before reaching into the wardrobe to move aside her spare day gown. "Once or twice. The men deserved it, I assure you.

I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime.

Scholarship must go on. For good or for evil, but inevitably, in every field.

Politicians who talk about purity usually end up deciding who is pure and who is not.

I am no more guilty than the so-called God-fearing, according to the tales John brings of those lying with others' wives, beating their children and placing pebbles instead of coins in the collection plate. Yet they condemn us. If this is what it is to be church folk I would rather be cast out.

Those who follow evil gods become evil themselves

It's possible to like bad people, but liking them doesn't make them good.

for I have learned that noble causes have a deplorable effect on the morals of the persons who espouse them)

Cats cannot be held accountable for their actions, because they have no morals to speak of.

Did Appomattox signify the triumph of right over wrong or of might over right?

When the sun comes up, I have morals again.

In the eighties, when she chiefly flourished, husbands were taken seriously, as the only real obstacles to sin. Beds too, if they had to be mentioned, were approached with caution; and a decent reserve prevented them and husbands ever being spoken of in the same breath.

I'm sure it's wrong to go on being good for too long, till one gets miserable. And I can see you've been good for years and years, because you look so unhappy

In effect, two men - excuse me, two billionaires - turned a United States senator 180 degrees merely by threatening to spend big money. And they did it so brazenly that Senator Moran had to publicly humiliate himself to satisfy the brothers' demand.... My sympathy level for anyone who gives in to this kind of pressure is exactly zero. If my job ever depends on pleasing a couple of billionaires, I'll quit.

Everything we stand for can be expressed in terms of how we spend our money.

when CEOs break the law, they ought to go to jail, just like anyone else. The words chiseled in stone above the Supreme Court are EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW. This is not followed by EXCEPT FOR CORPORATE EXECUTIVES.

If all this seems too tough, then the solution is simple: don't run for office. The American people should never have to worry about whether the decisions made by public officials are driven by public interest or by their own personal finance interest.

What you do and what you are is what matters.

In my measure there's little to choose between two such monarchs, but much to be said for keeping a man's fealty and word.