None are so empty as those who are full of themselves.
—Benjamin Whichcote (1609–83) British Anglican Priest, Theologian, Philosopher
Selfishness, when it is punished by the world, is mostly punished because it is connected with egotism.
—Arthur Helps (1813–75) British Essayist, Historian
There are too many who reverse both the principles and the practice of the apostle; they become all things to all men, not to serve others, but themselves; and they try all things only to hold fast that which is bad.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
I have given up reading books; I find it takes my mind off myself.
—Oscar Levant (1906–72) American Musician, Composer, Author, Comedian, Actor
Twin-sister of Religion, Selfishness
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) English Poet, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist
He who takes but never gives, may last for years but never lives.
—Unknown
Where all are selfish, the sage is no better than the fool, and only rather more dangerous.
—James Anthony Froude (1818–94) British Historian, Novelist, Biographer, Editor
SELFISH, adj. Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others.
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
Long before Einstein told us that matter is energy, Machiavelli and Hobbes and other modern political philosophers defined man as a lump of matter whose most politically relevant attribute is a form of energy called “self-interestedness.” This was not a portrait of man “warts and all.” It was all wart.
—George Will (b.1941) American Columnist, Journalist, Writer
Selfishness at the expense of others’ happiness is demonism.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Supreme and abiding self-love is a very dwarfish affection, but a giant evil.
—Richard Cecil
Heroism, magnanimity, and self-denial, in all instances in which they do not spring from a principle of religion, are but splendid altars on which we sacrifice one kind of self-love to another.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
Next to the young, I suppose the very old are the most selfish.
—William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–63) English Novelist
A little group of willful men reflecting no opinion but their own have rendered the great Government of the United States helpless and contemptible.
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) American Head of State
To be saved is only this,—salvation from our own selfishness.
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–92) American Quaker Poet, Abolitionist
Selfishness is the only real atheism; unselfishness the only real religion.
—Israel Zangwill (1864–1926) English Playwright, Novelist, Zionist Activist
The greatest productive force is human selfishness.
—Robert A. Heinlein (1907–88) American Science Fiction Writer
Take the selfishness out of this world and there would be more happiness than we should know what to do with.
—Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw) (1818–85) American Humorist, Author, Lecturer
You have no idea how promising the world begins to look once you have decided to have it all for yourself. And how much healthier your decisions are once they become entirely selfish.
—Anita Brookner (1928–2016) English Novelist, Art Historian
Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us.
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) English Baptist Preacher
The argument of this book is that we, and all other animals, are machines created by our genes. Like successful Chicago gangsters, our genes have survived, in some cases for millions of years, in a highly competitive world. This entitles us to expect certain qualities in our genes. I shall argue that a predominant quality to be expected in a successful gene is ruthless selfishness. This gene selfishness will usually give rise to selfishness in individual behavior. However, as we shall see, there are special circumstances in which a gene can achieve its own selfish goals best by fostering a limited form of altruism at the level of individual animals. ‘Special’ and ‘limited’ are important words in the last sentence. Much as we might wish to believe otherwise, universal love and the welfare of the species as a whole are concepts that simply do not make evolutionary sense.
—Richard Dawkins (b.1941) British Evolutionary Biologist, Atheist
The selfishness must be discovered and understood before it can be removed. It is powerless to remove itself, neither will it pass away of itself. Darkness ceases only when light is introduced; so ignorance can only be dispersed by Knowledge; selfishness by Love.
—James Lane Allen (1849–1925) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
Show me the man who would go to heaven alone, and I will show you one who will never be admitted there.
—Owen Feltham (1602–1668) English Essayist
The world is governed only by self-interest.
—Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) German Poet, Dramatist
In retrospect, all these exercises in self-gratification seem pure fantasy, what Pascal called, licking the earth.
—Malcolm Muggeridge (1903–90) English Journalist, Author, Media Personality, Satirist
A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor’s.
—Richard Whately (1787–1863) English Philosopher, Theologian
Selfishness is one of the qualities apt to inspire love.
—Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–64) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
Human history is the sad result of each one looking out for himself.
—Julio Cortazar (1914–84) Argentine-French Novelist, Short Story Writer, Translator
No man will work for your interests unless they are his.
—David Seabury (1885–1960) American Psychologist
Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
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