Plato Quotes

... the self respect of individuals ought to make them demand of their leaders conformity with an agreed-upon code of ethics and moral conduct.

The most important thing about my life is this integrity, and you can't lie to yourself.

I don't need others to validate my good conduct.

Who is respectable when thinking himself alone and free from observation will be so before the eye of all the world.

Attend well to your character, and your reputation will look out for itself.

I would be quite content if I myself could be rated fifty-fifty in merits and demerits. But one thing I can say for myself: I have had a clear conscience all my life. Please mark my words: I have made quite a few mistakes, and I have my own share of responsibility for some of the mistakes made by Comrade Mao Zedong. But it can be said that I made my mistake with good intentions. There is nobody who doesn't make mistakes.

Honor is self-esteem made visible in action.

Above all things, one should maintain his self-respect, and there is but one way to do that, and that is to live in accordance with your highest ideal.

We can secure other people's approval, if we do right and try hard; but our own is worth a hundred of it, and no way has been found out of securing that.

There is no greater wealth than Virtue,And no greater loss than to forget it.

A man’s first care should be to avoid the reproaches of his own heart.

The glory of the good is in their consciences, and not in the tongues of men.

Self-approbation, when founded in truth and a good conscience, is a source of some of the purest joys known to man.

Where is there dignity unless there is honesty?

A man must not be without shame, for the shame of being without shame is shamelessness indeed.

It is a good divine that follows his own instructions.

Never lose your self-respect, nor be too familiar with yourself when you are alone. Let your integrity itself be your own standard of rectitude, and be more indebted to the severity of your own judgment of yourself than to all external percepts. Desist from unseemly conduct, rather out of respect for your own virtue than for the strictures of external authority.

We follow the codes not because they bring gain, but because we loathe the people we would otherwise become.

The price of dishonesty is self-destruction.

If you have self-respect, you will take satisfaction in being well groomed and will not allow yourself to perform shabbily. You will continue to work toward high standards and goals to serve others, to continue and to practice self-discipline. You will not compromise your standards or beliefs.

People should not worry as much about what they do but rather about what they are. If they and their ways are good, then their deeds are radiant... it is not our works which sanctify us but we who sanctify our works.

It's impossible to feel good about yourself if you are doing things that you aren't proud of. . . . It's essential that you . . . [do] things you can respect and admire.

I speak of honor-your honor to God-your honor to country-your honor to self. I sincerely believe it to be the cure to most of our ills, both on a national or individual basis.

Truth is an homage that the good man pays to his own dignity.