William Boyd Quotes

Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?

Men are rather reasoning than reasonable animals, for the most part governed by the impulse of passion.

The passions of men are commonly more potent than their reason.

It is not human to be without shame and without desire.

Man becomes man only by his intelligence, but he is man only by his heart.

I think my heart is quite selfish. If I followed my heart, I would not be a good person. But I have moral principles. I have to sit down and reflect.

As reason is a rebel to faith, so passion is a rebel to reason.

Man is free; yet we must not suppose that he is at liberty to do everything he pleases, for he becomes a slave the moment he allows his actions to be ruled by passion.

Reason guides but a small part of man, and the rest obeys feeling, true or false, and passion, good or bad.

Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason.

All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.

Reason is the historian, but passions are the actors.

There is a boundary to men's passions when they act from feelings; but none when they are under the influence of imagination.

One declaims endlessly against the passions; one imputes all of man's suffering to them. One forgets that they are also the source of all his pleasures.

Logic is no answer to passion.

Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason. Events which excite those feelings will produce wonderful effects.

It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters.

Nothing is more fallacious than to expect to produce any valuable or permanent results in political projects by relying merely on the reason of men. Men are ... for the most part governed by the impulses of passion.

Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame.

When a man is a prey to his emotions, he is not his own master, but lies at the mercy of fortune: so much so, that he is often compelled, while seeing that which is better for him, to follow that which is worse.

Men, as well as women, are much oftener led by their hearts than by their understandings.

Man is an emotional animal, occasionally rational; and through his feelings he can be deceived to his heart's content.

In all human affairs, the wisest course is to be passionate about the role of reason and reasonable about the role of passion.

What to ourselves in passion we propose, The passion ending, doth the purpose lose.

Integrity is important in building relationships. And is the foundation upon which many other qualities for success are built, such as respect, dignity, and trust.