Moral Perfection Quotes

• This is moral perfection: to live each day as though it were the last; to be tranquil, sincere, yet not indifferent to one's fate.

  Marcus Aurelius

  Fate, Perfection, Each Day

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• A country that demands moral perfection in its foreign policy will achieve neither perfection nor security.

  Henry A. Kissinger

  Country, Perfection, Demand

  "Reflections on Containment". Foreign Affairs, Vol. 73, No. 3, p. 130, June 1994.

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• Virtues, of ...
  Moderation: Avoid extremes. Forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Thinking, Virtue, Injury

  Benjamin Franklin, William Temple Franklin (1850). “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: Published Verbatim from the Original Manuscript, by His Grandson, William Temple Franklin”, p.76

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• Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Goodness, Expenses, Dullness

  Benjamin Franklin, Jared Sparks (1848). “The Life of Benjamin Franklin: Containing the Autobiography, with Notes and a Continuation”, p.106

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• Order - Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Order, Dullness

  Benjamin Franklin (2008). “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”, p.126, Applewood Books

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• Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Common, Disturbed, Trifles

  Benjamin Franklin, William Temple Franklin (1850). “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: Published Verbatim from the Original Manuscript, by His Grandson, William Temple Franklin”, p.76

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• Eat not to dullness, drink not to elevation.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Loss, Self Improvement, Drink

  Benjamin Franklin (2008). “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”, p.126, Applewood Books

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• Rarely use Venery but for Health or Offspring; Never to Dulness, Weakness, or the Injury of your own or another's Peace or Reputation.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Weakness, Use, Reputation

  Benjamin Franklin (2008). “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”, p.127, Applewood Books

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• Silence - Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Silence, Benefits, May

  Benjamin Franklin, William Temple Franklin (1818). “Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Benjamin Franklin ...”, p.68

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• Resolve to perform what you ought;
  perform without fail what you resolve.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Priorities, Advice, Failing

  Benjamin Franklin, William-Temple Franklin (1818). “Memoirs of the Life and Writings of (the Same), Continued to the Time of His Death by William Temple Franklin. - London, H. Colburn 1818”, p.68

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• Virtues, of ...
  Justice: Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Justice, Benefits, Virtue

  Benjamin Franklin, Alan Houston (2004). “Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings on Politics, Economics, and Virtue”, p.69, Cambridge University Press

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• Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Hope, Wisdom, Integrity

  Benjamin Franklin (1818). “Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Benjamin Franklin ..., 1”, p.129

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• I wish to live without committing any fault at any time.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Wish, Faults

  Benjamin Franklin, Jared Sparks (1848). “The Life of Benjamin Franklin: Containing the Autobiography, with Notes and a Continuation”, p.105

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• Lose no time; be always employed in something useful.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Employed, Loses

  Benjamin Franklin, William-Temple Franklin (1818). “Memoirs of the Life and Writings of (the Same), Continued to the Time of His Death by William Temple Franklin. - London, H. Colburn 1818”, p.68

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• The ultimate destiny of the human race is the greatest moral perfection, provided that it is achieved through human freedom, whereby alone man is capable of the greatest happiness.

  Immanuel Kant

  Destiny, Men, Race

  Immanuel Kant (1963). “Lectures on ethics”

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• Ethical religion affirms the continuity of progress toward moral perfection. It affirms that the spiritual development of the human race cannot be prematurely cut off, either gradually or suddenly; that every stone of offence against which we stumble is a stepping-stone to some greater good; that, at the end of days, if we choose to put it so, or, rather, in some sphere beyond the world of space and time, all the rays of progress will be summed and centred in a transcendent focus.

  Felix Adler

  Spiritual, Cutting, Space

  "Life and Destiny". Book by Felix Adler, 1903.

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• The moral perfections of the Deity, the more attentively, we consider, the more perfectly still shall we know them.

  Joseph Addison

  God, Perfection, Deities

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• On closer inspection, the hero status accorded to Abraham, Moses and David in the Old Testament (and echoed in the New Testament) is rooted not in their moral perfection but in their uncompromising dedication to the cause of Yahweh and their rugged trust in the promises of God rather than lapsing into the idolatry of many of their contemporaries.

  Paul Copan

  Hero, Dedication, Perfection

  Paul Copan (2011). “Is God a Moral Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament God”, p.67, Baker Books

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• Man has a single basic choice: to think or not, and that is the gauge of his virtue. Moral perfection is an unbreached rationality-not the degree of your intelligence, but the full and relentless use of your mind, not the extent of your knowledge, but the acceptance of reason as an absolute.

  Ayn Rand

  Acceptance, Men, Thinking

  Ayn Rand (2005). “Atlas Shrugged”, p.999, Penguin

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• What sets Christian spiritual activity apart from all other religions is that they have knowledge of Christ as their goal; not moral perfection (although you will become more moral), not tranquility (although your life will be remarkably more peaceful). And because of the grace you have in Christ, the disciplines will do nothing to make you more accepted by the Father. You cannot be more accepted than you already are in Christ, since He has already done it all for you!

  Charles R. Swindoll

  Christian, Spiritual, Father

  Charles R. Swindoll (2007). “So, You Want To Be Like Christ?: Eight Essentials to Get You There”, p.11, Thomas Nelson

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• Blake expressed some doubt as to whether God had made the tiger. But the tiger is in many ways an admirable animal. We have now to ask whether God made the tapeworm. And it is questionable whether an affirmative answer fits in either with what we know about the process of evolution or what many of us believe about the moral perfection of God.

  John B. S. Haldane

  Believe, Animal, Perfection

  "The Causes of Evolution". Book by John B. S. Haldane, 1932.

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• How can we say nobody's perfect if there is no perfect to compare to? Perfection implies that there really is a right and wrong way to be. And what type of perfection is the best type? Moral perfection? Aesthetic? Physiological? Mental?

  A.S. King

  Perfect, Way, Moral

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• Vegetarianism serves as the criterion by which we know that the pursuit of moral perfection on the part of humanity is genuine and sincere.

  Leo Tolstoy

  Vegetarianism, Perfection, Humanity

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• Then from the world all spirituality will be extinct, all moral perfection will be extinct, all sweet-souled sympathy for religion will be extinct, all ideality will be extinct; and in its place will reign the duality of lust and luxury as the male and female deities, with money as its priest, fraud, force, and competition its ceremonies, and the human soul its sacrifice. Such a thing can never be.

  Swami Vivekananda

  Sweet, Sacrifice, Luxury

  Swami Vivekananda (2015). “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”, p.1744, Manonmani Publishers

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• The vegetarian movement ought to fill with gladness the souls of those who have at heart the realization of God's kingdom upon earth, not because vegetarianism itself is such an important step towards the realization of this kingdom (all real steps are equally important or unimportant), but because it serves as a criterion by which we know that the pursuit of moral perfection on the part of man is genuine and sincere.

  Leo Tolstoy

  Real, Heart, Men

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