Morality is a private and costly luxury.

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

The man of life upright has a guiltless heart, free from all dishonest deeds or thought of vanity.

There have been several Duchesses of Westminster but there is only one Chanel!

The generality of men are naturally apt to be swayed by fear rather than reverence, and to refrain from evil rather because of the punishment that it brings than because of its own foulness.

The safest course is to do nothing against one’s conscience. With this secret, we can enjoy life and have no fear from death.

No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expedience.

What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.

Sin cannot be conceived in a natural state, but only in a civil state, where it is decreed by common consent what is good or bad.

Abortion isn’t a lesser evil, it’s a crime. Taking one life to save another, that’s what the Mafia does. It’s a crime. It’s an absolute evil.

The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught.

Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.

The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.

We’re introducing separate rooms with double beds in all of our planes so people can actually go with their partner and have a proper night’s sleep.

We become just by performing just action, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave action.

Wherever there is interest and power to do wrong, wrong will generally be done.

On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, ‚Is it safe?‘ Expediency asks the question, ‚Is it politic?‘ And Vanity comes along and asks the question, ‚Is it popular?‘ But Conscience asks the question, ‚Is it right?‘

I don’t have to see a murder in order to condemn murder.

If you’re not going to be rewarded for your virtues, and instead you’re going to be punished for them, then what’s your motivation to continue?

To cut short the question of the law of retaliation, we must note that even in its primitive form it can operate only between two individuals of whom one is absolutely innocent, and the other absolutely guilty. The victim, to be sure, is innocent. But can the society that is supposed to represent the victim lay claim to innocence?

Don’t lie about anything, ever. Lying leads to Hell.

Yes, there is a terrible moral in ‚Dorian Gray‘ – a moral which the prurient will not be able to find in it, but it will be revealed to all whose minds are healthy. Is this an artistic error? I fear it is. It is the only error in the book.

If men were born free, they would, so long as they remained free, form no conception of good and evil.

Immorality: the morality of those who are having a better time.

Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent.

If we cut up beasts simply because they cannot prevent us and because we are backing our own side in the struggle for existence, it is only logical to cut up imbeciles, criminals, enemies, or capitalists for the same reasons.

Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike.

A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first.

The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep our foot upon his neck.

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.

Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil.

We are much beholden to Machiavel and others, that write what men do, and not what they ought to do.

The only big things I’ve purchased are my dad’s heart valve and a Rolls-Royce for my parents, for their anniversary. And that was only because my dad had a Lady Gaga license plate on our old car and it was making me crazy because he was getting followed everywhere, so I bought him a new car.

I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.

Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.

When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear.

If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.

Violence is both unavoidable and unjustifiable.

The violence in the Bible is appalling.

Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.

The most dangerous criminal now is the entirely lawless modern philosopher. Compared to him, burglars and bigamists are essentially moral men.

All the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbor as yourself.

In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.

I have known a vast quantity of nonsense talked about bad men not looking you in the face. Don’t trust that conventional idea. Dishonesty will stare honesty out of countenance any day in the week, if there is anything to be got by it.

Evil is the product of the ability of humans to make abstract that which is concrete.

For my part, I desire to see the time when education – and by its means, morality, sobriety, enterprise and industry – shall become much more general than at present, and should be gratified to have it in my power to contribute something to the advancement of any measure which might have a tendency to accelerate the happy period.

I submit that an individual who breaks a law that 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.

The story being told in ‚Star Wars‘ is a classic one. Every few hundred years, the story is retold because we have a tendency to do the same things over and over again. Power corrupts, and when you’re in charge, you start doing things that you think are right, but they’re actually not.

Because of lack of moral principle, human life becomes worthless. Moral principle, truthfulness, is a key factor. If we lose that, then there is no future.

The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice.

On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.

A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true.

Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.

Let us not be too particular; it is better to have old secondhand diamonds than none at all.

It is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.

No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.

I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil.

If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.

Conscience is a man’s compass.

There is a luxury in self-reproach. When we blame ourselves we feel no one else has a right to blame us.

I think God’s justice is making wrongs right.