There is a universal moral law, as distinct from a moral code, which consists of certain statements of fact about the nature of man, and by behaving in conformity with which, man may enjoy his true freedom.
—Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957) British Crime Writer
I say statecraft is soulcraft. Just as all education is moral education because learning conditions conduct, most legislation is moral legislations because it conditions the action and the thought of the nation in broad and important spheres in life.
—George Will (b.1941) American Columnist, Journalist, Writer
A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectively on sympathy, education, and social relationships; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
By ethical argument and moral principle the greatest crimes are eventually shown to have been necessary, and, in fact, a signal benefit to mankind.
—Zhuang Zhou (c.369–c.286 BCE) Chinese Taoist Philosopher
We need timeless principles to steer by in running our organizations and building our personal careers. We need high standards . . . the ethics of excellence.
—Price Pritchett
Excellence calls for character . . . integrity . . . fairness . . . honesty . . . a determination to do what’s right. High ethical standards, across the board.
—Price Pritchett
Sorrow breaks season, and reposing hours; makes the night morning, and the noontide night.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
Men of integrity, by their very existence, rekindle the belief that as a people we can live above the level of moral squalor. We need that belief; a cynical community is a corrupt community.
—John W. Gardner (1912–2002) American Activist
The darkest hour in the history of any young man is when he sits down to study how to get money without honestly earning it.
—Horace Greeley (1811–72) American Elected Rep, Politician, Reformer, Editor
The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.
—Omar Bradley (1893–1981) American Military Leader
The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
I consider ethics, as well as religion, as supplements to law in the government of man.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
The ethics of excellence are grounded in action – what you actually do, rather than what you say you believe. Talk, as the saying goes, is cheap.
—Price Pritchett
I do not believe in the immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern without any superhuman authority behind it.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar.
—D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) English Novelist, Playwright, Poet, Essayist, Literary Critic
Actually, there is only one “first question” of government, and it is “How should we live?” or “What kind of people do we want our citizens to be?”
—George Will (b.1941) American Columnist, Journalist, Writer
The simplest and shortest ethical precept is to be served as little as possible . . . and to serve others as much as possible.
—Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) Russian Novelist
The recognition of the sanctity of the life of every man is the first and only basis of all morality.
—Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) Russian Novelist
The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings.
—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French Theologian, Musician, Philosopher, Physician
Anything that we have to learn we learn by the actual doing of it… we become just by performing just acts, temperate by performing temperate ones, brave by performing brave ones.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
It was once said that the moral test of Government is how that Government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped
—Hubert Humphrey (1911–78) American Head of State, Politician
Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.
—Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American Inventor, Scientist, Entrepreneur
It is too probable that no plan we propose will be adopted. Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be sustained. If to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God.
—George Washington (1732–99) American Head of State, Military Leader
The ethics of excellence require a sense of perspective. Look at the big picture. If you live for the moment, do you mortgage the future? What happens if you put your reputation at risk . . . and lose the bet?
—Price Pritchett
The more prohibitions you have, the less virtuous people will be. The more weapons you have, the less secure people will be.
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
Freedom, morality, and the human dignity of the individual consists precisely in this; that he does good not because he is forced to do so, but because he freely conceives it, wants it, and loves it.
—Mikhail Bakunin (1814–76) Russian Anarchist Philosopher
The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less than a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must—in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures—and that is the basis of all morality.
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
An ethical person ought to do more than he’s required to do and less than he’s allowed to do
—Indian Proverb
In civilized life, law floats in a sea of ethics.
—Earl Warren (1891–1974) American Judge, Politician
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
But when we get enough people who don’t care, and who don’t accept personal responsibility for high ethical standards, our organization gets the “M” disease. Mediocrity. Anybody in the place can be a carrier. By the same token, every individual can carry the cure: the ethics of excellence.
—Price Pritchett
What is morally wrong can never be advantageous, even when it enables you to make some gain that you believe to be to your advantage. The mere act of believing that some wrongful course of action constitutes an advantage is pernicious.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way. We become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
There is, therefore, only one categorical imperative. It is: Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.
—Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) Prussian German Philosopher, Logician
A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help.
—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French Theologian, Musician, Philosopher, Physician
Nothing that is morally wrong can be politically right.
—William Ewart Gladstone (1809–98) English Liberal Statesman, Prime Minister
When it comes to practicing good ethics, saying no to a vice is not good enough. A quality life is never achieved by focusing on the elimination of what is wrong. True success requires you to focus your mental, emotional, and spiritual energies on pursuing that which is right and good. Trying to become virtuous merely by excluding vice is as unrealistic as trying to cultivate roses simply by eliminating weeds.
—Gary Ryan Blair
Notice that “I” is at the center of the word “ethical.” There is no “they.” Achieving the ethics of excellence is our individual assignment.
—Price Pritchett
Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.
—Jane Addams (1860–1935) American Social Reformer, Feminist
It is the mark of the cultured man that he is aware of the fact that equality is an ethical and not a biological principle
—Ashley Montagu (1905–1999) British-American Anthropologist
We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living.
—Omar Bradley (1893–1981) American Military Leader
Grub first, then ethics.
—Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) German Poet, Playwright, Theater Personality
Humanity has every reason to place the proclaimers of high moral standards and values above the discoverers of objective truth. What humanity own to personalities like Buddha, Moses, and Jesus ranks for me higher than all the achievements of the of the inquiring constructive mind.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Relativity applies to physics, not ethics.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
The act of acting morally is behaving as if everything we do matters.
—Gloria Steinem (b.1934) American Feminist, Journalist, Social Activist, Political Activist
True morality consists no in following the beaten track, but in finding out the true path for ourselves and fearlessly following it.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
The only way we can develop muscle is through regular exercise. As soon as we stop stretching and working toward higher ethics, our standards start to sag. The muscle gets soft, and instead of excellence we have to settle for mediocrity. Maybe something even worse.
—Price Pritchett
You can’t put someone else in charge of your morals. Ethics is a personal discipline.
—Price Pritchett
Your ethical muscle grows stronger every time you choose right over wrong.
—Price Pritchett
The character ethic, which I believe to be the foundation of success, teaches that there are basic principles of effective living, and that people can only experience true success and enduring happiness as they learn and integrate these principles into their basic character.
—Stephen Covey (1932–2012) American Self-help Author