Edith Wharton Quotes

An act has no ethical quality whatever unless it be chosen out of several all equally possible.

Here in St. Cloud’s,” Dr. Larch wrote, “ I have been given the choice of playing God or leaving practically everything up to chance. It is my experience that practically everything is left up to chance much of the time; men who believe in good and evil, and who believe that good should win, should watch for those moments when it is possible to play God – we should seize those moments. There won’t be may

There is nothing good or evil save in the will.

The power of choosing good and evil is within the reach of all.

there are risks you'll take for yourself because you know that if your plan goes wrong, it'll be too late for regrets. but if you risk the lives of others and fail, you'll have a lifetime to regret it.

Eve didn't choose to eat the apple. She was tempted by the serpent." "Yes," I argue, thoughts coming out half-formed. "But...she didn't have to take a bite. She chose to.

But they who are unconcerned about the consequences of their actions are not therefore unconcerned about their actions.

The right to do something doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

They are focused on whether they can do something. They never think whether they should do something.

What influences our behavior, and what our level of responsibility is, are very complex issues. And anytime we try to make this simplistic, we don't serve people well.

The act of willing this or that, of choosing among various courses of conduct, is central in the realm of ethics.

I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime.

Morality may consist solely in the courage of making a choice.

Sometimes its controversy, but we all have our choices that we make.

I don't think anyone sets out to do something bad, it's just that it's very difficult.

What good would politics be, if it didn’t give everyone the opportunity to make moral compromises?

You make your own choices. Even extramarital affair, it's your own decision. And you suffer for it and pay for it. That's what 'Ankahee' is all about.

You are responsible for the choices you make in this life period, end of story.

Everythings a choice. Nobody's born good. Nobody's born evil. It's always a choice.

Should I be the one to play God? We're both about the same age, but we grew up in different neighborhoods.

Judgement is given to men that they may use it. Because it may be used erroneously, are men to be told that they ought not to use it at all?

A moral choice in its basic terms appears to be a choice that favors survival: a choice made in favor of life.

Each decision - to kill, to sign a petition, to write a letter, to make a speech, to attack, to lie, to surrender - was made at some point in somebody's day.

You must learn to face the fact, always, that you choose to do what you do, and that everything you do affects not only you but others.

Every act has both good and evil results. The best we can do is lean to the light.