Benjamin Rush Quotes

There are two freedoms - the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.

Let us be true: this is the highest maxim of art and of life, the secret of eloquence and of virtue, and of all moral authority.

Without a moral framework, there is nothing left but immediate self-indulgence by some and the path of least resistance by others. Neither can sustain a free society.

The only freedom I care about is the freedom to do right; the freedom to do wrong I am ready to part with on the cheapest terms to anyone who will take it of me.

In the long run, the public interest depends on private virtue.

Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.

We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.

A man should be upright, not be kept upright.

Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure there is one less rascal in the world.

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

True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what's right.

True freedom is where an individual's thoughts and actions are in alignment with that which is true, correct, and of honor - no matter the personal price.

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

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

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

Freedom is not the liberty do anything whatsoever. It is the freedom to do good

A conscientious man ought not to regard what may happen to him in this world.

… knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul

All effective actions require the passport of morality.

Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give the earth itself and all it contains, rather than do an immoral act.

In this world, there must be a certain degree of honor just as there must be a certain amount of light. When there are many men without honor, there will always be some others who bear in themselves the honor of many men.

Without integrity and conscience we lose our freedom.

Every virtuous man is free.

It was Rousseau who was largely responsible for the problem by giving currency to the idea that freedom can exist without responsibility and discipline.

People with no morals often considered themselves more free, but mostly they lacked the ability to feel or love.