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There is no witness so terrible, no accuser so powerful as conscience which dwells within us.
Sophocles
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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.

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Silence is an ornament for women.
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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.
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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.
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