Thomas Fuller Quotes

Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one.

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

People can say or think whatever they want... so in my reality, it's kind of irrelevant. I'm always the kind of person that does the right thing and keeps my side of the street clean.

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?

We need to hold ourselves accountable for the work we do and the choices we make.

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

Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking.

I'm not Mother Teresa. But I'm not Frank Bough, either. I am getting older and a bit more sensible. I'm not going to be popping up in dungeons every six months. If you catch me preaching fidelity while I am shagging chickens then throw the book at me. Otherwise, leave me alone.

My greatest personal mistake is ever to allow a word or moment that “doesn’t count,” i.e., that I do not refer to my own basic principles. Every word, every action, every moment counts. (This is the pattern on which everybody makes mistakes [or] becomes irrational — not relating their one action or one conviction to another.

The true gentleman does not preach what he practices till he has practiced what he preaches.

In golf, the player, coach and official are rolled into one, and they overlap completely. Golf really is the best microcosm of life - or at least the way life should be.

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

How can I govern others, who can't even govern myself?

I try to stay in line and not be a jerk. I've always been conscious that if I really screw up, people might notice.

It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.

Good actions ennoble us, and we are the sons of our deeds.

Character is destiny.

I will govern my life and thoughts as if the whole world were to see the one and read the other, for what does it signify to make anything a secret to my neighbor, when to God, who is the searcher of our hearts, all our privacies are open?

Depend on no man, on no friend but him who can depend on himself. He only who acts conscientiously toward himself, will act so toward others.

One tells as few lies as possible only by telling as few lies as possible, and not by having the least possible opportunity to do so.

Purity of personal life is the one indispensable condition for building up a sound education.

Whenever you do a thing, tho' it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you and act accordingly.

I try to be a good person - I don't always succeed, but that's what I'm shooting for.

A personal code of conduct that you follow is far better than a social code of conduct that you are forced to follow.

Teach your children early not to pass the blame or make excuses, but to take responsibility for their actions.