We must desire something great, but we must be able to create something great; otherwise, this is an insignificant wish. The laurels of a single wish are dry leaves that were never green.
As will is necessary to him who perseveres in the attainment of a reasonable end, so obstinacy is repulsive.
It is not what exists that arouses our sense of impatience and suffering, but the fact that it is not as it should be.
It is not noble to hide the truth when you have to tell it, because that way you humiliate yourself and those around you. But you must not speak the truth, if it is not meant for those who listen or if they have no right to hear it.
Needing, in itself, is not the same as having. It depends on his will if he wants to present himself as needy. He will only want this if he is convinced that I will consider him my equal.
Nothing great in the world is done without passion.
Morality is a form of obedience in freedom.
Morality must appear under the guise of beauty.
Morality is the reason of the will.
The moral man is aware of the necessary content of his activity... and this does not cause any damage to his freedom, on the contrary, only thanks to awareness does this become a real and substantial freedom, in contrast to lawlessness which represents a freedom devoid of content and only possible.
Man's obligations are divided into four categories: obligation to himself, to the family, to the state and to other people in general.
One of the fundamental definitions of the principle of honor is that no one should give others, by his actions, an advantage over himself.
The answer to the questions that leave philosophy unanswered is that the questions must be formulated differently.
To the pedantic moralist it may be said that conscience is a torch of morality, which illuminates the right path; and when it deviates from this path, it is extinguished.
The first necessary relationships in which a person comes into contact with others are family relationships. These relationships, it is true, also have a legal side, but this is subject to the moral side, the principle of love and trust.
In relationships with friends you must be as little a burden as possible. The most delicate thing would be not to ask your friends for any favors.
In the first place, a behavior in accordance with the law and a moral disposition must be acquired; only then will moral behavior as such arise, without any kind of legislative prescriptions.
True compassion is reliving the moral justification of the sufferer.
Authentic works of art are immortal and remain accessible, giving pleasure in all times and to all peoples.
Aid must not be granted against the will of the recipient.
The truth is spoken at the right place and time when it contributes to the accomplishment of a thing.
The law leaves complete freedom to the disposition. Morality, however, refers to disposition and requires that the deed be done out of respect for duty. Consequently, the manner of acting in accordance with the law is also moral, if it is determined by respect for the law.
Regarding morality, the only truth lies in the words of the sages of antiquity: to be moral is to live according to the customs of your country.
The mind can be formed without the heart, and the heart without the mind; there are one-sided, irrational hearts and heartless minds.
Language is an extraordinarily powerful tool, but you have to be smart to use it.
The most important need is the need to know the truth.
The free man is not envious, but joyfully recognizes that something is great and sublime, and rejoices in its existence.
The connection between two people of opposite sexes, called marriage, is not only a natural animal union and not only a civil contract, but primarily a moral union, created on the basis of feelings of love and mutual trust, which transforms the spouses in a whole.
Minerva's owl only flies at dusk.
Conscience, unlike laws, is disenfranchised within the state; man cannot appeal to conscience, for one has one conscience, and another - another. In order for a just conscience to exist, it is necessary that what he considers to be just, is objectively so.