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Philosophical literature22 quotes
God is dead: but as the human race is constituted, there will perhaps be caves for millenniums yet, in which people will show his shadow. — Friedrich Nietzsche · 1882All men by nature desire to know. — Aristotle · 322 BCMan is by nature a political animal. — Aristotle · 350 BCOut of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made. — Immanuel Kant · 1784For what a man had rather were true he more readily believes. — Francis Bacon · 1620Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasions for it. — Niccolo Machiavelli · 1531All 22 quotes →Political literature17 quotes
Man is by nature a political animal. — Aristotle · 350 BCMan is the only creature who refuses to be what he is. — Albert Camus · 1951Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint. — Alexander Hamilton · 1787It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. — James Madison · 1788Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasions for it. — Niccolo Machiavelli · 1531So long as the great majority of men are not deprived of either property or honour, they are satisfied. — Niccolo Machiavelli · 1532All 17 quotes →Religious literature13 quotes
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. — Genesis 1:26-27 · 1405 BCIf we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. — 1st John 1:8 · 95And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. — Genesis 6:5 · 1405 BCThe weakness of little children's limbs is innocent, not their souls. — St. Augustine · 400Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. — Psalm 51:5 · 450 BCFor all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. — Apostle Paul · 56All 13 quotes →Psychological literature4 quotes
You can take away a man's gods, but only to give him others in return. — Carl Jung · 1958Every civilized human being, whatever his conscious development, is still an archaic man at the deeper levels of his psyche. — Carl Jung · 1933People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. — Carl Jung · 1944Man's nature, his passions and anxieties, are a cultural product; as a matter of fact, man himself is the most important creation and achievement of the continuous human effort, the record of which we call history. — Erich Fromm · 1941Autobiography and memoir3 quotes
Men are nearly always willing to believe what they wish. — Julius Caesar · 49 BCThere is surely a peece of Divinity in us, something that was before the Elements, and owes no homage unto the Sun. — Sir Thomas Browne · 1643Rob him of his illusions, and man would perish of very weariness and despair. — Anatole France · 1922Epic poem3 quotes
All men have need of the Gods. — Homer · 700 BCWe are quick to flare up, we races of men on the earth. — Homer · 700 BCTo what do you not drive human hearts, cursed craving for gold! — Virgil · 19 BCPolitical speech3 quotes
Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man's nature—opposition to it, is [in?] his love of justice. — Abraham Lincoln · 1854The democratic aspiration is no mere recent phase in human history. It is human history. It permeated the ancient life of early peoples. It blazed anew in the Middle Ages. It was written in Magna Charta. — Franklin D. Roosevelt · 1941It is necessary to keep the former experiences of our country both at home and abroad continually before us, if we are to have any science of government. If we wish to erect new structures, we must have a definite knowledge of the old foundations. We must realize that human nature is about the most constant thing in the universe and that the essentials of human relationship do not change. We must frequently take our bearings from these fixed stars of our political firmament if we expect to hold a true course. If we examine carefully what we have done, we can determine the more accurately what we can do. — Calvin Coolidge · 1925Science fiction3 quotes
It's in your nature to destroy yourselves. — The Terminator · 1991All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil. — Robert Louis Stevenson · 1886To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human. — Mouse · 1999Action2 quotes
It's in your nature to destroy yourselves. — The Terminator · 1991To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human. — Mouse · 1999Action (film)2 quotes
It's in your nature to destroy yourselves. — The Terminator · 1991To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human. — Mouse · 1999Biography2 quotes
It is part of human nature to hate the man you have hurt. — Tacitus · 56We would all be idle if we could. — Samuel Johnson · 1776Historical literature2 quotes
Men are nearly always willing to believe what they wish. — Julius Caesar · 49 BCIf one were to order all mankind to choose the best set of rules in the world, each group would, after due consideration, choose its own customs; each group regards its own as being by far the best. — Herodotus · 430 BCScience fiction (film)2 quotes
It's in your nature to destroy yourselves. — The Terminator · 1991To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human. — Mouse · 1999Superhero2 quotes
Mankind was not evil, just...uninformed. — Professor Charles Xavier · 2000Is not this simplier? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel. — Loki · 2012Superhero (film)2 quotes
Mankind was not evil, just...uninformed. — Professor Charles Xavier · 2000Is not this simplier? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel. — Loki · 2012Tragedy (play)2 quotes
What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable; in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god: the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals-And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? — William Shakespeare · 1616What is a man
If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more. — William Shakespeare · 1616Travel writing2 quotes
Man is the Only Animal that Blushes. Or needs to. — Mark Twain · 1897A human being has a natural desire to have more of a good thing than he needs. — Mark Twain · 1897Coming of age story1 quote
It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. — Charlotte Bronte · 1847Crime1 quote
Goodness is chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. — Prison Governor · 1971Crime (film)1 quote
Goodness is chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. — Prison Governor · 1971Drama1 quote
Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind. — Gordon Gekko · 1987Drama (film)1 quote
Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind. — Gordon Gekko · 1987Dystopian1 quote
Goodness is chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. — Prison Governor · 1971Dystopian (film)1 quote
Goodness is chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. — Prison Governor · 1971Dystopian fiction1 quote
The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness, and that, for the great bulk of mankind, happiness is better. — George Orwell · 1949Economic literature1 quote
The power to become habituated to his surroundings is a marked characteristic of mankind. — John Maynard Keynes · 1919Greek theater1 quote
Neither anarchy nor tyranny—this I counsel my citizens to support and respect, and not to drive fear wholly out of the city. For who among mortals, if he fears nothing, is righteous? — Aeschylus · 458 BCMystery1 quote
Most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything. — Noah Cross · 1974Mystery (film)1 quote
Most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything. — Noah Cross · 1974Neo-noir1 quote
Most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything. — Noah Cross · 1974