Hanif Kureishi Quotes

If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked.

I'm a good person, I hope. But I'm never as good as I want to be, never as nice as I want to be, never as generous as I want to be.

I don't want to be interesting. I want to be good.

Men are limited by the knowledge of their minds, the worth of their characters and the principles upon which they are building their lives.

People often tell me I could be a great man. I'd rather be a good man.

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

Our ideals are our better selves.

Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.

Every day I have many choices to make about who I want to be.

No one can be good for long if goodness is not in demand.

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

Character is long-standing habit.

Men are more accountable for their motives, than for anything else; and primarily, morality consists in the motives, that is in the affections.

Good means not merely not to do wrong, but rather not to desire to do wrong.

The more men value money the less they value virtue.

I'm a good man, and I'm gonna become a better man.

Themes of redemption, temptation, and faith don't necessarily apply directly to religion. A lot of people find faith in their lives outside of God and still deal with notions of temptation and redemption that aren't religious.

Being a 'good man' is something you do, not something you are.

Search others for their virtue, and yourself for your vices.

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

Solitude cherishes great virtues and destroys little ones.

There is no better proof of a man's being truly good than his desiring to be constantly under the observation of good men.

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

I've never been a bad person and always had quite good morals. There's always been a side of me that's been quite proper, but it's got distracted here and there. Now I'm the person I should be.

Good character consists of recognizing the selfishness that inheres in each of us and trying to balance it against the altruism to which we should all aspire. It is a difficult balance to strike, but no definition of goodness can be complete without it.