Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The...
Dignity of character ought to be graced by a house; but from a house it is not wholly derived. A master is not to be honored by a house; but a house by its master. [Ornanda enim est dignitas domo, non...
View ArticleCicero, Marcus Tullius -- De Officiis [On Duties; On Moral Duty; The...
For nothing can ever be virtuous or creditable that is not just. [Nihil enim honestum esse potest, quod iustitia vacat.] Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopherDe...
View ArticleMilton, John -- Comus, l. 322ff (1634)
THE LADY: Shepherd I take thy word, And trust thy honest offer’d courtesie, Which oft is sooner found in lowly sheds With smoaky rafters, then in tapstry Halls And Courts of Princes, where it first was...
View ArticleTolkien, J.R.R. -- The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 3: The Return of the King,...
‘A time may come soon,’ said he, ‘when none will return. Then there will be need of valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defence of your homes. Yet the...
View ArticleShakespeare, William -- All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 2, sc. 3, l. 136ff...
From lowest place when virtuous things proceed, The place is dignified by the doer’s deed. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poetAll’s Well That Ends Well, Act 2, sc. 3, l. 136ff...
View ArticleSerling, Rod -- “Rod Serling: The Facts of Life,” interview by Linda Brevelle...
BREVILLE: And what do you want them to say about the writer Rod Serling a hundred years from now? SERLING: I don’t care. I just want them to remember me a hundred years from now. I don’t care that...
View ArticleGracián, Baltasar -- The Art of Worldly Wisdom [Oráculo Manual y Arte de...
Politeness and honour have this advantage, that they remain with him who displays them to others. [La galantería y la honra tienen esta ventaja, que se quedan: aquélla en quien la usa, ésta en quien la...
View ArticleSwift, Jonathan -- “Thoughts on Religion” (1726)
Miserable mortals! Can we contribute to the honour and glory of God? I could wish that expression were struck out of our prayer books. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) English writer and churchman“Thoughts...
View ArticleHellman, Lillian -- Letter to Rep. John S. Wood, House Committee on...
I was raised in an old-fashioned American tradition and there were certain homely things that were taught to me: To try to tell the truth, not to bear false witness, not to harm my neighbor, to be...
View ArticleDe Levis, Pierre-Marc-Gaston -- Maximes et Essais sur Différents Sujets,...
It is because gold is rare that gilding has been invented, which, without having its solidity, has all its brilliance. — Thus, to replace the kindness we lack, we have devised politeness, which has all...
View ArticleEuripides -- Bacchæ [Βάκχαι], l. 877ff, Stasimon 3 (Ode 4), Refrain...
What prayer should we call wise? What gift of Heaven should man Count a more noble prize, A prayer more prudent, than To stretch a conquering arm Over the fallen crest Of those who wished us harm? And...
View ArticleConfucius -- The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 8, verse 13, sec. 3 (8.13.3)...
People feel shameful to be poor and underprivileged in a well-run country. You should feel shameful if you are rich and aristocratic in a decadent and corrupt country. [邦有道、貧且賤焉、恥也、邦無道、富且貴焉、恥也。]...
View ArticleGoethe, Johann von -- Die Leiden des Jungen Werthers [The Sorrows of Young...
The world runs on from one folly to another; and the man who, solely from regard to the opinion of others, and without any wish or necessity of his own, toils after gold, honour, or any other phantom,...
View ArticleGay, John -- “The Pack-Horse and Carrier (To a young Nobleman),” ll. 41-42
Whence had you this illustrious name? From virtue and unblemish’d fame. By birth the name alone descends; Your honour on yourself depends: Think not your coronet can hide Assuming ignorance and pride....
View ArticleCicero, Marcus Tullius -- Orationes in Catilinam [Catilinarian Orations], No....
I certainly had not the smallest reason to fear that the execution of this murderer of Roman citizens would cause me to be blamed by posterity. And indeed, even if this were a serious danger, I have...
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