Quotes about Principles

We have got nowadays so that we divide lies into white lies and black lies, society lies and business lies, etc. The Word of God knows no such letting-down of the standard.

Most people are willing to take the Sermon on the Mount as a flag to sail under, but few will use it as a rudder by which to steer.

To live a life of virtue, you have to become consistent, even when it isn't convenient, comfortable, or easy.

Ethical existence [is] the highest manifestation of spirituality.

We want spiritual principles to be more than beautiful abstractions; we want them to actually transform our lives.

It is those moral and spiritual qualities which rise alone in free men, which will fulfill the meaning of the word American. And with them will come centuries of further greatness to our country.

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.

The longing to behold this pre-established harmony [of phenomena and theoretical principles] is the source of the inexhaustible patience and perseverance with which Planck has devoted himself ... The state of mind which enables a man to do work of this kind is akin to that of the religious worshiper or the lover; the daily effort comes from no deliberate intention or program, but straight from the heart.

I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves—such an ethical basis I call more proper for a herd of swine.

The highest principles for our aspirations and judgments are given to us in the Jewish-Christian religious tradition.

But the nature of the universe is such that the ends never justify the means. On the contrary, the means always determine the end.

Or consider another field where one can use games to implant an understanding of basic principles. All scientific thinking is in terms of probability. The old eternal verities are merely a high degree of likeliness; the immutable laws of nature are just statistical averages. How does one get these profoundly unobvious notions into children's heads? By playing roulette with them, by spinning coins and drawing lots. By teaching them all kinds of games with cards and boards and dice.