You can do anything in this world if you are prepares to take the consequences.
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
In history an additional result is commonly produced by human actions beyond that which they aim at and obtain—that which they immediately recognize and desire. They gratify their own interest; but something further is thereby accomplished, latent in the actions in question, though not present to their consciousness, and not included in their design.
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) German Philosopher
Nothing is worth doing unless the consequences may be serious.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments—there are consequences.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children… This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American Head of State, Military Leader
Whatever our creed, we feel that no good deed can by any possibility go unrewarded, no evil deed unpunished.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
A human being fashions his consequences as surely as he fashions his goods or his dwelling his goods or his dwelling. Nothing that he says, thinks or does is without consequences.
—Norman Cousins (1915–90) American Journalist, Author, Academic, Activist
Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important … they do not mean to do harm … they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.
—T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) American-born British Poet, Dramatist, Literary Critic
The consequences of an act affect the probability of its occurring again.
—B. F. Skinner (1904–90) American Psychologist, Social Philosopher, Inventor, Author
Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bear bad fruit.
—James Lane Allen (1849–1925) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
Consequences are unpitying.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
Every moment of our lives we are either growing or dying—and it’s largely a choice, not fate. Throughout its life cycle, every one of the body’s trillions of cells is driven to grow and improve its ability to use more of its innate yet untapped capacity. Research biologist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, who was twice awarded the Nobel Prize, called this syntropy, which he defined as the “innate drive in living matter to perfect itself”. It turns conventional thinking upside down…As living cells—or as people—there is no staying the same. If we aim for some middle ground or status quo, it’s an illusion—beneath the surface what’s actually happening is we’re dying, not growing. And the goal of a lifetime is continued growth, not adulthood. As Rene Dubos put it, “Genius is childhood recaptured”. For this to happen, studies show that we must recapture—or prevent the loss of—such child-like traits as the ability to learn, to love, to laugh about small things, to leap, to wonder, and to explore. It’s time to rescue ourselves from our grown-up ways before it’s too late.
—Robert Cooper (b.1947) British Diplomat
All successful men have agreed in being causationists; they believed that things were not by luck, but by law—that there was not a weak or cracked link in the chain that joins the first and last of things—the cause and effect.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Because right is right, to follow right were wisdom, in the scorn of consequence.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law … That would lead to anarchy. An individual who breaks a law that his conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
He that does good to another, does good also to himself, not only in the consequences, but in the very act; for the consciousness of well doing is, in itself, ample reward.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
Logical consequences are the scarecrows of fools and the beacons of wise men.
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95) English Biologist
Remember one thing about democracy. We can have anything we want and at the same time, we always end up with exactly what we deserve.
—Edward Albee (1928–2016) American Playwright
Don’t be misled: no one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
There is not any present moment that is unconnected with some future one. The life of every man is a continued chain of incidents, each link of which hangs upon the former. The transition from cause to effect, from event to event, is often carried on by secret steps, which our foresight cannot divine, and our sagacity is unable to trace. Evil may at some future period bring forth good; and good may bring forth evil, both equally unexpected.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Essayist, Poet, Playwright, Politician
When you feel deeply that a certain act is the right act, do it and have perfect faith that the consequences will be good.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
There is no limit to how complicated things can get, on account of one thing always leading to another.
—E. B. White (1985–99) American Essayist, Humorist
Charisma becomes the undoing of leaders. It makes them inflexible, convinced of their own infallibility, unable to change.
—Peter Drucker (1909–2005) Austrian-born Management Consultant
Everything we do has a result. But that which is right and prudent does not always lead to good, nor the contrary to what is bad.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
As a twig is bent the tree inclines.
—Virgil (70–19 BCE) Roman Poet
Long-term planning is not about making long-term decisions, it is about understanding the future consequences of today’s decisions.
—Gary Ryan Blair
Everyone will experience the consequences of his own acts. If his act are right, he’ll get good consequences; if they’re not, he’ll suffer for it.
—Harry Browne (1933–2006) American Politician, Investor, Writer
Every choice carries a consequence. For better or worse, each choice is the unavoidable consequence of its predecessor. There are not exceptions. If you can accept that a bad choice carries the seed of its own punishment, why not accept the fact that a good choice yields desirable fruit?
—Gary Ryan Blair
The sower may mistake and sow his peas crookedly: the peas make no mistake, but come up and show his line.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Every act of virtue is an ingredient unto reward.
—Jeremy Taylor
For every life and every act consequence of good and evil can be shown and as in time results of many deeds are blended so good and evil in the end become confounded.
—T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) American-born British Poet, Dramatist, Literary Critic
With every deed you are sowing a seed, though the harvest you may not see.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American Poet, Journalist
We must remember that hatred is like acid. It does more damage to the vessel in which it is stored than to the object on which it is poured.
—Ask Ann Landers (1918–2002) American Advice Columnist
Their mothers had finally caught up to them and been proven right. There were consequences after all but they were the consequences to things you didn’t even know you’d done.
—Margaret Atwood (b.1939) Canadian Writer, Poet, Critic
Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
The Devil beget darkness; darkness beget ignorance; ignorance beget error and his brethren; error beget free-will and presumption; free-will beget works; works beget forgetfulness of God; forgetfulness beget transgression; transgression beget superstition; superstition beget satisfaction; satisfaction beget the mass-offering; the mass-offering beget the priest; the priest beget unbelief; unbelief beget hypocrisy; hypocrisy beget traffic in offerings for gain; traffic in offerings for gain beget Purgatory; Purgatory beget the annual solemn vigils; the annual vigils beget church-livings; church-livings beget avarice; avarice beget swelling superfluity; swelling superfluity beget fulness; fulness beget rage; rage beget license; license beget empire and domination; domination beget pomp; pomp beget ambition; ambition beget simony; simony beget the pope and his brethren, about the time of the Babylonish captivity.
—Martin Luther (1483–1546) German Protestant Theologian
While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.
—Stephen Covey (1932–2012) American Self-help Author
But men never violate the laws of God without suffering the consequences, sooner or later.
—Lydia Maria Child (1802–80) American Abolitionist, Writer
Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
There are no rewards or punishments—only consequences.
—William Motter Inge (1913–73) American Playwright, Novelist
The secret of the world is the tie between person and event. Person makes event and event person.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
No doing without some ruing.
—Sigrid Undset (1882–1949) Norwegian Novelist
Perhaps his might be one of the natures where a wise estimate of consequences is fused in the fires of that passionate belief which determines the consequences it believes in.
—George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans) (1819–80) English Novelist
The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour.
—Japanese Proverb