Walter Raleigh Quotes

Truth is handsomer than the affectation of love. Your goodness must have some edge to it, else it is none.

I do not permit affection or lack thereof to influence my actions. There is good, and there is evil. The good must be protected, the evil eradicated. I have shown you the triumph of evil as a caution.

I will not steep my speech in lies; the test of any man lies in action.

There is too much animal courage in society and not sufficient moral courage.

I shall not be deprived ... of a comfort in the worst event, if I retain a consciousness of having acted to the best of my judgment.

Temporary deviations from fundamental principles are always more or less dangerous. When the first pretext fails, those who become interested in prolonging the evil will rarely be at a loss for other pretexts.

The determined scholar and the man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of injuring their virtue. They will even sacrifice their lives to preserve their virtue complete.

I hate cowardice; I will have nothing to do with cowards or political nonsense.

I seek no values by means of evil, nor do I surrender my values to evil.

A mind that is conscious of its integrity scorns to say more than it means to perform.

Courage is the ability to do the right thing, all the time, no matter how painful or uncomfortable it might be.

Denouncing evil is a far cry from doing good.

The great man does not think beforehand of his words that they may be sincere, nor of his actions that they may be resolute- he simply speaks and does what is right.

The heroic soul does not sell its justice and its nobleness.

You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.

Cowards are nice, they're interesting, they're gentle, they wouldn't think of shooting down people in a parade from a tower. They want to live, so they can see their kids. They're very brave.

Integrity is never painless.

Integrity, honesty, and honor may not give immediate rewards or gratification, and they can be life-threatening (for example, being a whistle-blower or turning state's evidence). The absence of integrity, honesty, and honor do not always bring punishment or scorn, and can be life-aggrandizing (connivers and cheats often gain power and wealth). Therefore, morality must be its own reward.

I intend to follow the path of virtue. It will not be overcrowded.

Integrity is congruence between what you know, what you profess, and what you do.

Doing what is right in the face of adversity is not always easy or popular. Critics may assail you, but the critics don't always realize what they don't know or don't understand, because they don't have access to all the information.

A lady could not boast of her chastity who was never tempted.

Nothing deters a good man from doing what is honourable.

A man who knows all goods and all truths, as many as can be known, but does not shun evils, knows nothing.

What the individual can do is to give a fine example, and to have the courage to uphold ethical values .. in a society of cynics.