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Good quotes

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“There is an old illusion—it is called good and evil.” Friedrich Nietzsche, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” - 1891

“Man selects only for his own good; Nature only for that of the being which she tends.” Charles Darwin, “On The Origin of Species” - 1859

“Annihilation itself is no death to evil. Only good where evil was, is evil dead. An evil thing must live with its evil until it chooses to be good. That alone is the slaying of evil.” George MacDonald, “Lilith” - 1895

“Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance” - 1841

“For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever.” Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” - 1849

“I try not to speak about the charities and people I help, because I believe we can only be truly generous when we expect nothing in return.” Muhammad Ali, “The Soul of a Butterfly” - 2004

“would not one tiny crime be wiped out by thousands of good deeds?” Fyodor Dostoyevsky, “Crime and Punishment” - 1867

“Having a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other is the most common thing in the world.” JAY-Z, “Decoded” - 2010

“The success of our economy has always depended, not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity, on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart, not out of charity, but because it is the surest...” Barack Obama, “Inaugural Address” - 20 January 2009

“Segregation is that which is forced upon inferiors by superiors. But separation is that which is done voluntarily, by two equals—for the good of both!” Malcolm X, “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” - 1965

“To safeguard democracy the people must have a keen sense of independence, self-respect and their oneness, and should insist upon choosing as their representatives only such persons as are good and true.” Mahatma Gandhi, “The Story of my Experiments with Truth” - 1929

“Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win By fearing to attempt.” William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure” - 1623

“If you do something too good, then, after a while, if you don't watch it, you start showing off. And then you're not as good any more.” J. D. Salinger, “The Catcher in the Rye” - 1951

“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

“War is war. The only good human being is a dead one.” George Orwell, “Animal Farm” - 1945

“The evil that is in the world always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence, if they lack understanding. On the whole, men are more good than bad; that, however, isn't the real point.” Albert Camus, “The Plague” - 1947

“When bad men combine, the good must associate” Edmund Burke, “Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents” - 1770

“Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil.” John Steinbeck, “East of Eden” - 1952

“It is far better to endure patiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself, than to commit a hasty action whose evil consequences will extend to all connected with you; and besides, the Bible bids us return good for evil.” Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre” - 16 October 1847

“To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.” Confucius, “Analects”

“Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man’s part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house.” J. R. R. Tolkien, “The Two Towers” - 1954

“A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. Each should have its own reward.” George R. R. Martin, “A Clash of Kings” - 1999

“For he that does good, having the unlimited power to do evil, deserves praise not only for the good which he performs, but for the evil which he forbears.” Walter Scott, “Ivanhoe” - 1820

“It is easy enough to do good once or twice, but to keep on doing good without getting disgusted with the ingratitude of those whom we have benefited, that is not so easy.” Martin Luther, “Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians” - 1535

“He saw that nothing was good and nothing was evil; things were merely adapted to an end.” W. Somerset Maugham, “Of Human Bondage” - 1915

“It seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones slept better, Cloquet thought, while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more.” Woody Allen, “Side Effects” - 1980

“Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig.” Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations” - c. 170 - 180

“when each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.” Paulo Coelho, “The Alchemist” - 1988

“Oz had not kept the promise he made her, but he had done his best, so she forgave him. As he said, he was a good man, even if he was a bad Wizard.” L. Frank Baum, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” - 1900

“By that sin fell the angels.” William Shakespeare, “Henry VIII” - 1623

“It is such a happiness when good people get together—and they always do.” Jane Austen, “Emma” - 1815

“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” John Steinbeck, “East of Eden” - 1952

“The third principle is the motive: for instance when a man is moved by one whom he loves, to do good to someone: for whatever we do or suffer for a friend is pleasant, because love is the principal cause of pleasure.” Thomas Aquinas, “Summa Theologica” - 1274

“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.” William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice” - 1600

“I have been wicked in my day, but I never thought a little girl like you would ever be able to melt me and end my wicked deeds.” L. Frank Baum, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” - 1900

“there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so” William Shakespeare, “Hamlet” - 1623

“The only objects of practical reason are therefore those of good and evil. For by the former is meant an object necessarily desired according to a principle of reason; by the latter one necessarily shunned, also according to a principle of reason.” Immanuel Kant, “Critique of Practical Reason” - 1788

“Verily, I have often laughed at the weaklings, who think themselves good because they have crippled paws!” Friedrich Nietzsche, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” - 1891

“Every sweet hath its sour; every evil its good.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Compensation” - 1841

“What is morality? . . . Judgment to distinguish right and wrong, vision to see the truth, courage to act upon it, dedication to that which is good, integrity to stand by the good at any price.” Ayn Rand, “Atlas Shrugged” - 1957

“The man who is honest and good ought to be exactly like a man who smells strong, so that the bystander as soon as he comes near him must smell whether he choose or not.” Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations” - c. 170 - 180

“The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self—all your wishes and precautions—to Christ. But it is far easier than what we are all trying to do instead. For what we are trying to do is to remain what we call...” C. S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity” - 1952

“OPTIMISM, n. The doctrine, or belief, that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly, everything good, especially the bad, and everything right that is wrong.” Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil's Dictionary” - 1911

“The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.” William Shakespeare, “All's Well That Ends Well” - 1623

“The power to do good is also the power to do harm; those who control the power today may not tomorrow; and, more important, what one man regards as good, another may regard as harm.” Milton Friedman, “Capitalism and Freedom” - 1962

“There is no vice so simple but assumes some mark of virtue on his outward parts.” William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice” - 1600

“He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.” Confucius, “Analects”

“He did not say that because he knew that if you said a good thing it might not happen.” Ernest Hemingway, “The Old Man and the Sea” - 1952

“What is a good man but a bad man's teacher? What is a bad man but a good man's job?” Lao Tzu, “Tao Te Ching” - 4th century BC

“So little knows any, but God alone, to value right the good before him, but perverts best things to worst abuse, or to their meanest use.” John Milton, “Paradise Lost” - 1667

Related topics

evil bad power life right love belief men death happiness understanding praise morality day contradiction sweetness strength women wisdom doubt

Related authors

William Shakespeare (8)
Henry David Thoreau (3)
Ralph Waldo Emerson (3)
Confucius (3)
Marcus Aurelius (3)
J. K. Rowling (2)
Muhammad Ali (2)
Ayn Rand (2)
Aristotle (2)
George MacDonald (2)
L. Frank Baum (2)
Friedrich Nietzsche (2)
W. Somerset Maugham (2)
John Steinbeck (2)
Jane Austen (1)
William Makepeace Thackeray (1)
George Bernard Shaw (1)
Ernest Hemingway (1)
William Faulkner (1)
George R. R. Martin (1)

Related sources

Civil Disobedience (3)
Analects (3)
Meditations (3)
The Merchant of Venice (2)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2)
The Soul of a Butterfly (2)
Politics (2)
Lilith (2)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2)
Thus Spoke Zarathustra (2)
Of Human Bondage (2)
East of Eden (2)
Atlas Shrugged (2)
Hamlet (1)
All's Well That Ends Well (1)
Vanity Fair (1)
Man and Superman (1)
As I Lay Dying (1)
Measure for Measure (1)
Cymbeline (1)

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