Your corn is ripe today; mine will be so tomorrow. 'Tis profitable for us both, that I should labour with you today, and that you should aid me tomorrow.
David HumeRead
But would we know, whether the pretended prophet had really attained a just sentiment of morals? Let us attend to his narration; and we shall soon find, that he bestows praise on such instances of treachery, inhumanity, cruelty, revenge, bigotry, as are utterly incompatible with civilized society. No steady rule of right seems there to be attended to; and every action is blamed or praised, so far only as it is beneficial or hurtful to the true believers.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the moral judgment of a supposed prophet, suggesting that their values are distorted and inconsistent with a civilized society.
David Hume critiques the moral framework presented by a supposed prophet, indicating that their praise for immoral actions such as treachery and cruelty reveals a deep inconsistency in their ethical standards. He emphasizes that morality should be based on principles that uphold civilized society, rather than subjective benefits to particular groups, suggesting that true moral judgment cannot be founded on self-interest or bias.
Themes
MoralityEthicsSocietyJusticePhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on moral standards, this quote can be used to highlight the dangers of subjective ethics.
More from David Hume
All quotes →Eloquence, at its highest pitch, leaves little room for reason or reflection, but addresses itself entirely to the desires and affections, captivating the willing hearers, and subduing their understanding.
David HumeRead
All that belongs to human understanding, in this deep ignorance and obscurity, is to be sceptical, or at least cautious, and not to admit of any hypothesis whatever, much less of any which is supported by no appearance of probability.
David HumeRead
The great end of all human industry is the attainment of happiness
David HumeRead
There is a very remarkable inclination in human nature to bestow on external objects the same emotions which it observes in itself, and to find every where those ideas which are most present to it.
David HumeRead
To have recourse to the veracity of the supreme Being, in order to prove the veracity of our senses, is surely making a very unexpected circuit.
David HumeRead
Similar quotes
Every thought is a cause & every condition is an effect. Change your thoughts & you change your destiny.
Joseph MurphyRead
Some deny the existence of misery by pointing to the sun; he denies the existence of the sun by pointing to misery.
Franz KafkaRead
God has given us many faiths but only one world in which to co-exist. May your work help all of us to cherish our commonalities and feel enlarged by our differences.
Jonathan SacksRead
I saw a huge steam roller, It blotted out the sun. The people all lay down, lay down; They did not try to run. My love and I, we looked amazed Upon the gory mystery. "Lie down, lie down!" the people cried. "The great machine is history!" My love and I, we ran away, The engine did not find us. We ran up to a mountain top, Left history far behind us. Perhaps we should have stayed and died, But somehow we don't think so. We went to see where history'd been, And my, the dead did stink so.
Kurt VonnegutRead
Every man lives in two realms: the internal and the external. The internal is that realm of spiritual ends expressed in art, literature, morals, and religion. The external is that complex of devices, techniques, mechanisms, and instrumentalities by means of which we live.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
I knew that was really the only purpose of life: to be our self, live our truth, and be the love that we are.
Anita MoorjaniRead