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Duty quotes

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“To realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation.” Paulo Coelho, “The Alchemist” - 1988

“The strongest is never strong enough to be always the master, unless he transforms strength into right, and obedience into duty.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “The Social Contract” - 1762

“The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.” Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” - 1849

“A gentleman is someone who does not what he wants to do but what he should do.” Haruki Murakami, “Norwegian Wood” - 1987

“Every subject's duty is the King's; but every subject's soul is his own.” William Shakespeare, “Henry V” - 1600

“There are times when it is one's duty to assert oneself.” Agatha Christie, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” - 1920

“Every one has his superstitions. One of mine is that in positions of great responsibility every one should do his duty to the best of his ability where assigned by competent authority, without application or the use of influence to change his...” Ulysses S. Grant, “Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant” - 1885

“For a right is nothing more than the other aspect of duty.” Jean-Paul Sartre, “Nausea” - 1938

“Most of us are not so strong. What is honor compared to a woman’s love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms... or the memory of a brother’s smile?” George R. R. Martin, “A Game of Thrones” - 1996

“The performance of duty, and not an indulgence in vapid ease and vapid pleasure, is all that makes life worth while.” Theodore Roosevelt, “Theodore Roosevelt; an Autobiography” - 1913

“He said it made him feel that life was not an idle dream to be gaped and yawned through, but a noble task, full of duty and stern work.” Jerome K. Jerome, “Three Men in a Boat” - 1889

“love is the bane of honor, the death of duty.” George R. R. Martin, “A Game of Thrones” - 1996

“And so, my fellow Americans... ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy, “Inaugural Address” - 20 January 1961

“to marry means to halve one's rights and double one's duties.” Arthur Schopenhauer, “Studies in Pessimism” - 1891

“To renounce liberty is to renounce being a man, to surrender the rights of humanity and even its duties.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “The Social Contract” - 1762

“By-and-by we shall take turns, for marriage, they say, halves one's rights and doubles one's duties.” Louisa May Alcott, “Little Women” - 1868

“A craven can be as brave as any man, when there is nothing to fear. And we all do our duty, when there is no cost to it. How easy it seems then, to walk the path of honor. Yet soon or late in every man’s life comes a day when it is not easy, a...” George R. R. Martin, “A Game of Thrones” - 1996

“A sense of duty is useful in work, but offensive in personal relations. People wish to be liked, not to be endured with patient resignation.” Bertrand Russell, “The Conquest of Happiness” - 1930

“So many vows... they make you swear and swear. Defend the king. Obey the king. Keep his secrets. Do his bidding. Your life for his. But obey your father. Love your sister. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. Respect the gods. Obey the laws....” George R. R. Martin, “A Clash of Kings” - 1999

“But it is essential to every inquiry about duty that we keep before our eyes how far superior man is by nature to cattle and other beasts: they have no thought except for sensual pleasure and this they are impelled by every instinct to seek;” Marcus Tullius Cicero, “On Duties” - 44 BC

“Make it a point to do something every day that you don't want to do. This is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.” Mark Twain, “Following the Equator” - 1897

“It is a terrible thing to be happy! How content one is! How all-sufficient one finds it! How, being in possession of the false object of life, happiness, one forgets the true object, duty!” Victor Hugo, “Les Misérables” - 1862

“Ah! by Jove! one’s duty is to feel what is great, cherish the beautiful, and not accept all the conventions of society with the ignominy that it imposes upon us.” Gustave Flaubert, “Madame Bovary” - 1856

Related topics

right honor responsibility strength life marriage freedom work love destiny happiness relationship beauty pleasure desire man authority humanity pain good

Related authors

George R. R. Martin (4)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (2)
William Shakespeare (1)
Mark Twain (1)
Henry David Thoreau (1)
Victor Hugo (1)
Bertrand Russell (1)
Paulo Coelho (1)
Theodore Roosevelt (1)
Louisa May Alcott (1)
Ulysses S. Grant (1)
Jerome K. Jerome (1)
Arthur Schopenhauer (1)
Agatha Christie (1)
Marcus Tullius Cicero (1)
Haruki Murakami (1)
Jean-Paul Sartre (1)
Gustave Flaubert (1)
John F. Kennedy (1)

Related sources

A Game of Thrones (3)
The Social Contract (2)
Henry V (1)
Civil Disobedience (1)
Les Misérables (1)
The Conquest of Happiness (1)
The Alchemist (1)
Theodore Roosevelt; an Autobiography (1)
Little Women (1)
Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (1)
Three Men in a Boat (1)
Inaugural Address (1)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1)
On Duties (1)
Norwegian Wood (1)
Nausea (1)
Madame Bovary (1)
Following the Equator (1)
A Clash of Kings (1)
Studies in Pessimism (1)