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Goodness quotes

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“If it is not right, do not do it: if it is not true, do not say it.” Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations” - c. 170 - 180

“How good life is when one does something good and just!” Fyodor Dostoyevsky, “The Brothers Karamazov” - 1880

“Horrible my iniquities had been; But Infinite Goodness hath such ample arms, That it receives whatever turns to it.” Dante Alighieri, “Divine Comedy” - 1320

“Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over thee. While thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good.” Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations” - c. 170 - 180

“now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.” Mark Twain, “Life on the Mississippi” - 1883

“intentions, good or bad, are not enough.” John Steinbeck, “The Winter of Our Discontent” - 1961

“The world seems full of good men, even if there are monsters in it.” Bram Stoker, “Dracula” - 1897

“there are honor and goodness in the world, the same as there are diamonds and radium.” Marilyn Monroe, “My Story” - 1974

“Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful.” William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure” - 1623

“He lives in fame that died in virtue's cause.” William Shakespeare, “Titus Andronicus” - 1594

“Your goodness must have some edge to it, —else it is none.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance” - 1841

“There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked long, even if it is, the consciousness of possessing and using it well should satisfy one, and the great charm of all power is modesty.” Louisa May Alcott, “Little Women” - 1868

“If goodness has causes, it is not goodness; if it has effects, a reward, it is not goodness either. So goodness is outside the chain of cause and effect.” Leo Tolstoy, “Anna Karenina” - 1877

“Benevolence is often very peremptory.” W. Somerset Maugham, “Of Human Bondage” - 1915

“That which is not good for the swarm, neither is it good for the bee.” Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations” - c. 170 - 180

“I hate purity, I hate goodness! I don't want any virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bones.” George Orwell, “1984” - 1949

“she thought there were no Gods; no one was to blame; and so she evolved this atheist's religion of doing good for the sake of goodness.” Virginia Woolf, “Mrs Dalloway” - 1925

“You’ve a good heart . . . Sometimes that’s enough to see you safe wherever you go . . . But mostly, it’s not.” Neil Gaiman, “Neverwhere” - 1996

“Simple, generous goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us.” Louisa May Alcott, “Little Men” - 1871

“It is not possible to know how far the influence of any amiable honest-hearted duty-doing man flies out into the world” Charles Dickens, “Great Expectations” - 1861

“We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.” Pope Francis, “Laudato si'” - 24 May 2015

“People don't do me much good.” Charles Bukowski, “Ham on Rye” - 1982

“Nothing can make it moral to destroy the best. One can't be punished for being good. One can't be penalized for ability.” Ayn Rand, “Atlas Shrugged” - 1957

Related topics

virtue fame action responsibility life truth modesty speech justice purity honesty world bravery honor heart power decency religion wealth morality

Related authors

Marcus Aurelius (3)
William Shakespeare (2)
Louisa May Alcott (2)
Mark Twain (1)
George Orwell (1)
Charles Dickens (1)
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1)
Virginia Woolf (1)
Bram Stoker (1)
Ayn Rand (1)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1)
Leo Tolstoy (1)
Dante Alighieri (1)
W. Somerset Maugham (1)
Charles Bukowski (1)
Neil Gaiman (1)
John Steinbeck (1)
Marilyn Monroe (1)
Pope Francis (1)

Related sources

Meditations (3)
Measure for Measure (1)
Titus Andronicus (1)
1984 (1)
Self-Reliance (1)
Mrs Dalloway (1)
Dracula (1)
The Brothers Karamazov (1)
Little Women (1)
Anna Karenina (1)
Divine Comedy (1)
Of Human Bondage (1)
Ham on Rye (1)
My Story (1)
Laudato si' (1)
Life on the Mississippi (1)
The Winter of Our Discontent (1)
Great Expectations (1)
Atlas Shrugged (1)
Neverwhere (1)