States are not moral agents, people are, and can impose moral standards on powerful institutions.

We tell lies, yet it is easy to show that lying is immoral.

The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings.

Crime when it succeeds is called virtue.

Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.

Let me give you a definition of ethics: It is good to maintain and further life it is bad to damage and destroy life.

Ethics is in origin the art of recommending to others the sacrifices required for cooperation with oneself.

Don’t create more enemies than you take out by some immoral act.

Non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good.

Those who have virtue always in their mouths, and neglect it in practice, are like a harp, which emits a sound pleasing to others, while itself is insensible of the music.

The public is a ferocious beast; one must either chain it or flee from it.

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.

The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.

The object of the superior man is truth.

Successful and fortunate crime is called virtue.

States are not moral agents.

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

Great bodies of people are never responsible for what they do.

The role of the intellectual cannot be to excuse the violence of one side and condemn that of the other.

The rulers of the state are the only persons who ought to have the privilege of lying, either at home or abroad; they may be allowed to lie for the good of the state.

If what you have done is unjust, you have not succeeded.

Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.

Is science of any value? I think a power to do something is of value. Whether the result is a good thing or a bad thing depends on how it is used, but the power is a value.

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

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

We moralize among ruins.

I know of only one duty, and that is to love.

When the President does it, that means that it’s not illegal.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

To prefer evil to good is not in human nature; and when a man is compelled to choose one of two evils, no one will choose the greater when he might have the less.

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

It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentionally lying that there is so much falsehood in the world.

Judges should avoid commenting on a candidate for public office.

You could tell ‚The Handmaid’s Tale‘ from a male point of view. People have mistakenly felt that the women are oppressed, but power tends to organise itself in a pyramid. I could pick a male narrator from somewhere in that pyramid. It would interesting.

The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all.

The ‚morality of compromise‘ sounds contradictory. Compromise is usually a sign of weakness, or an admission of defeat. Strong men don’t compromise, it is said, and principles should never be compromised.

A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.

Humanitarianism consists in never sacrificing a human being to a purpose.

It is a fact that cannot be denied: the wickedness of others becomes our own wickedness because it kindles something evil in our own hearts.

I think the first duty of society is justice.

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

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.

The computer brings out the worst in some people.

If the Great Way perishes there will morality and duty. When cleverness and knowledge arise great lies will flourish. When relatives fall out with one another there will be filial duty and love. When states are in confusion there will be faithful servants.

The use of the atomic bomb, with its indiscriminate killing of women and children, revolts my soul.

I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.

Can anything be stupider than that a man has the right to kill me because he lives on the other side of a river and his ruler has a quarrel with mine, though I have not quarrelled with him?

I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.

I think you have a moral responsibility when you’ve been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently.

When there is a lack of honor in government, the morals of the whole people are poisoned.

It is possible for one never to transgress a single law and still be a bastard.

It is perfectly possible to live a very moral life without a belief in God, and I think it’s perfectly possible to live a life peppered with ill-doing and believe in God.

A society made up of individuals who were all capable of original thought would probably be unendurable.

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.

I will only say that many freedom fighters of India found their calling in the institutions of Britain. And many makers of modern India, including several of my distinguished predecessors, from Jawaharlal Nehru to Dr. Manmohan Singh, passed through their doors.

These days there is a lot of poverty in the world, and that’s a scandal when we have so many riches and resources to give to everyone. We all have to think about how we can become a little poorer.

A leader who doesn’t hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.

Understand, when you eat meat, that something did die. You have an obligation to value it – not just the sirloin but also all those wonderful tough little bits.

He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it.

Integrity has no need of rules.

Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.