Vaclav Havel Quotes

I do nothing I regret, man, because I try to do nothing abominable. As long as there is not an abomination, there is nothing to regret, you understand?

Let us strive for personal, practical integrity in every endeavor, regardless of how mundane or inconsequential it may seem.

Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself.

I want to be able, as days go by, always to look myself straight in the eye.

Whether it's making a film or raising my children, personally I'm striving to do the right things and to learn.

You're always concerned for your character. You should be.

Respect for self is the beginning of cultivating virtue in men and women.

Your conscience is the measure of the honesty of your selfishness. Listen to it carefully.

What, pray, does it profit a man to teach others, and to be prating always about virtue, in high-sounding words, if he fails to give heed to his own instructions?

Character is the result of two great forces: the initial force which the Creator gave it when He called the man into being; and the force of all the external influence and culture that mold and modify the development of a life.

Conscience is a man's compass, and though the needle sometimes deviates, though one often perceives irregularities in directing one's course by it, still one must try to follow its direction.

Every one of us ... knows better than he practices, and recognizes a better law than he obeys.

Let no man give advice to others that he has not first given himself.

Self-respect leads to self-discipline.

Live out your life in truth and justice, tolerant of those who are neither true nor just.

What is the most precious thing in the world? I see now that it is the knowledge that you have no part in injustice. Injustice is stronger than you, it always was and always will be, but let it not be done through you.

I would hope that we can load our moral computers with three elements of integrity: 1. Dealing justly with oneself. 2. Dealing justly with others. 3. Recognizing the law of the harvest.

Each day look into your conscience and amend your faults; if you fail in this duty you will be untrue to the Knowledge and Reason that are within you. Keep a watchful eye over yourself as if you were your own enemy; for you cannot learn to govern yourself, unless you first learn to govern your own passions and obey the dictates of your conscience.

Therefore the superior man is watchful over himself, when he is alone.

A good man with a good conscience doesn't walk so fast.

I try to be a good person. I know what my downfalls are, so that's a good thing.

Understand this law and you will then know, beyond room for the slightest doubt, that you are constantly punishing yourself for every wrong you commit and rewarding yourself for every act of constructive conduct in which you indulge.

A man has to live with himself, and he should see to it that he always has good company.

I just try to do my best and make the best judgments I can.

A moral being is one who is capable of reflecting on his past actions and their motives - of approving of some and disapproving of others.