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Quotes about morality

501 quotes from 241 people

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Religion amplifies the good and evil tendencies of individual souls.
Freeman Dyson1923–2020Progress In Religion (2000)
- Good & Evil
- Religion
Morals — all correct moral laws — derive from the instinct to survive. Moral behavior is survival behavior above the individual level.
Robert A. Heinlein1907–1988Starship Troopers (1959)
Selfishness is the bedrock on which all moral behavior starts and it can be immoral only when it conflicts with a higher moral imperative.
Robert A. Heinlein1907–1988The Pragmatics of Patriotism (1973)
What we call evil, is the only and best shape, which, for the person and his condition at the time, could be assumed by the best good.
George MacDonald1824–1905Phantastes (1858)
- Good & Evil
In real life, the hardest aspect of the battle between good and evil is determining which is which.
George R. R. Martinborn 1948infinity plus interview (2001)
- Good & Evil
Yes, I am my brother’s keeper. I am under a moral obligation to him that is inspired, not by any maudlin sentimentality, but by the higher duty I owe to myself.
Eugene V. Debs1855–1926The Issue (1908)
- Responsibility
First, I would like to tell you that I came to carry out the struggle, not to kill people. Even now, and you can look at me, am I a savage person? My conscience is clear.
PPPol Pot1925–1998Nate Thayer interview (1997)
The good and the bad mix themselves so thoroughly in our thoughts, even in our aspirations, that we must look for excellence rather in overcoming evil than in freeing ourselves from its influence.
Anthony Trollope1815–1882He Knew He Was Right (1869), Ch. 60
- Good & Evil
Jesus is no draughtsman of political blueprints, he is the one who vanquished evil through suffering. It looked as though evil had triumphed on the cross, but the real victory belonged to Jesus.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer1906–1945The Cost of Discipleship (1937), “Revenge”, p. 142
- Christianity
- Good & Evil
To sum it all up, I must say that I regret nothing.
Adolf Eichmann1906–1962From his 1957 interviews with Willem Sassen in Argentina (before his capture), published in LIFE magazine (5 December 1960)
The symbols of religion are ciphers of which the key is to be found in moral experience. It is in vain we pore over the ciphers unless we possess the key.
Felix Adler1851–1933Life and Destiny (1913), Section 2: Religion
- Religion
The moral ideal would embrace the whole of life. In its sight nothing is petty or indifferent. It touches the veriest trifles and turns them into shining gold.
Felix Adler1851–1933Life and Destiny (1913), Section 4: Moral Ideals
The good thing about being a hypocrite is that you get to keep your values.
Alan Aldaborn 1936as interviewed on NPR’s Here & Now, “A Conversation with Alan Alda”, September 13, 2007.
- Comedy
Right action is better than knowledge; but in order to do what is right, we must know what is right.
CCharlemagne747–814De Litteris Colendis (c. 780–800); translation from T. H. Huxley, Science and Education (1893)
- Knowledge
I find characters with a little evil in them much more interesting to play than the good guy. I’d rather play Doc Holliday than Wyatt Earp.
Kirk Douglas1916–2020Interview by Ron Miller (1984)
- Acting
- Good & Evil