Silence is an ornament for women.
SophoclesRead
There is no witness so terrible, no accuser so powerful as conscience which dwells within us.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Conscience serves as our most formidable judge and motivator.
This quote by Sophocles emphasizes the overwhelming power of our own conscience. It suggests that our internal moral compass holds more authority over us than any external force could, driving us to self-reflection and accountability for our actions, often resulting in feelings of guilt or remorse when we stray from our ethical beliefs.
Themes
ConscienceGuiltMoralitySelf-ReflectionAccountability
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal integrity, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of listening to one's conscience.
More from Sophocles
All quotes βNone love the messenger who brings bad news.
SophoclesRead
All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.
SophoclesRead
Not even Ares battles against necessity.
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You clearly hate to yield, but you will regret it when your anger has passed. Such natures are justly the hardest for themselves to bear.
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There is nothing more hateful than bad advice.
SophoclesRead
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He who cannot command himself should obey. And many can command themselves, but much is still lacking before they can obey themselves.
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I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever nowadays. You can't go anywhere without meeting clever people. The thing has become an absolute public nuisance. I wish to goodness we had a few fools left. ALGERNON: We have. JACK: I should extremely like to meet them. What do they talk about? ALGERNON: The fools? Oh! about the clever people of course. JACK: What fools.
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