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Ask yourself not if this or that is expedient, but if it is right.
Alan Paton
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote encourages individuals to prioritize moral correctness over practicality in decision-making.

Alan Paton's quote emphasizes the importance of considering the ethical implications of our actions rather than solely focusing on their expedience or practicality. It suggests that true wisdom lies in identifying what is right, thereby advocating for a moral compass that guides our choices, even when they may not be the easiest or most beneficial options in the short term.

Themes

EthicsMoralityDecision-MakingRightExpedient

In practice

Example use cases

In a leadership seminar discussing ethical challenges in business.

More from Alan Paton

Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that's the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, nor stand too silent when the setting sun makes red the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing. Nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him if he gives too much.
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One day in Johannesburg, and already the tribe was being rebuilt, the house and soul being restored.
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What broke in a man when he could bring himself to kill another? What broke when he could bring himself to thrust down the knife into the warm flesh, to bring down the axe on the living head, to cleave down between the seeing eyes, to shoot the gun that would drive death into the beating heart?
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It is not permissible to add to one's possesions if these things can only be done at the cost of other men. Such development has only one true name, and that is exploitation.
Alan PatonRead
If you wrote a novel in South Africa which didn't concern the central issues, it wouldn't be worth publishing.
Alan PatonRead
There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it.
Alan PatonRead

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