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ATHENA: You wish to be called righteous rather than act right. [...] I say, wrong must not win by technicalities.
Aeschylus
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of genuine righteousness over mere appearances or technicalities in ethical behavior.

In this quote, Athena asserts that true righteousness is about acting in accordance with moral principles rather than merely seeking the title or label of being righteous. It suggests that ethical behavior should be the priority, as wrongful actions should not be allowed to succeed simply due to clever arguments or loopholes, thus urging people to focus on integrity and moral clarity in their decisions.

Themes

RighteousnessIntegrityMoralityJusticeEthics

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a discussion about ethical decision-making in business.

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