I have always been of the mind that in a democracy manners are the only effective weapons against the bowie-knife.
James Russell LowellRead
In vain we call old notions fudge, And bend our conscience to our dealing; The Ten Commandments will not budge, And stealing will continue stealing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that dismissing traditional moral standards does not change their inherent validity, and wrongdoing persists regardless of our rationalizations.
James Russell Lowell's quote critiques the tendency of individuals to rationalize or disregard established moral principles, such as the Ten Commandments, in favor of convenience or self-interest. He emphasizes that simply labeling these moral standards as outdated does not alter their importance or the consequences of violating them, particularly in the context of theft. The quote serves as a reminder of the inherent truth of ethical guidelines that persist regardless of societal changes or personal justification.
Themes
MoralityConscienceTheftEthicsTraditional Values
In practice
Example use cases
A philosophical discussion on morality at a university seminar.
More from James Russell Lowell
All quotes βThe foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.
James Russell LowellRead
Not failure, but low aim, is crime.
James Russell LowellRead
Good luck is the willing handmaid of upright, energetic character, and conscientious observance of duty.
James Russell LowellRead
Puritanism, believing itself quick with the seed of religious liberty, laid, without knowing it, the egg of democracy.
James Russell LowellRead
Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.
James Russell LowellRead
Similar quotes
Neither Pagan nor Mahamedan nor Jew ought to be excluded from the civil rights of the Commonwealth because of his religion. -quoting John Locke's argument.
Thomas JeffersonRead
Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscle of omnipotence.
Charles SpurgeonRead
I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers. Sometimes I wish it had been. What has happened, though, is that it has been taken over by means of the sleaziest, low-comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d'etat imaginable.
Kurt VonnegutRead
Truth will do well enough if left to shift for herself. She seldom has received much aid from the power of great men to whom she is rarely known and seldom welcome. She has no need of force to procure entrance into the minds of men.
Thomas JeffersonRead
All of our people all over the country-except the pure-blooded Indians-are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, including even those who came over here on the Mayflower.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
Being precedes Truth, and ... Truth precedes the Good.
Josef PieperRead