“Heaven and hell suppose two distinct species of men, the good and the bad. But the greatest part of mankind float betwixt vice and virtue.”
More from David Hume on Ethics
“Be a philosopher; but, amidst all your philosophy, be still a man.”
“Be a philosopher but amid all your philosophy be still a man.”
“The corruption of the best things gives rise to the worst.”
“Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.”
“Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions.”
“Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.”
Others on Ethics
Ayn Rand
9 quotes“Sacrifice is the surrender of that which you value in favor of which you dont”
Saint Augustine
8 quotes“Beauty is indeed a good gift of God; but that the good may not think it a great good, God dispenses it even to the wicke...”
Dante
6 quotes“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in time of great moral crisis maintain their neutrality.”
Marcus Aurelius
4 quotes“The pride which is proud of want of pride is the most intolerable of all.”
Thomas Paine
4 quotes“A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue but moderation in pri...”
Einstein
4 quotes“Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.”
Pope Benedict XVI
4 quotes“Purity of heart is what enables us to see.”
Confucius
3 quotes“Tsze-kung wished to dispense with the sacrifice of a sheep for the New Moon ceremony. The Master said, "You love the she...”
Adam Smith
3 quotes“In the common degree of the moral, there is no virtue. Virtue is excellence.”
Immanuel Kant
3 quotes“...I am never to act otherwise than so that I could also will that my maxim should become universal law.”
Percy Shelley
3 quotes“All spirits are enslaved which serve things evil.”
Alexander Pope
3 quotes“Order is heaven's first law.”