Mahatma Gandhi Quotes


Rights that do not flow from duty well performed are not worth having.


Citations

Gandhi, Mahatma. The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. Vol. 87, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 1982, p. 293.

Related Quotes

See Charles James Fox, John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, Grover Cleveland, Jeremy Bentham, George Mason, and John Milton for other expressions of this idea. 1st Earl of Beaconsfield


This quotation is classic in that it illustrates a fundamental difference between a political and religious view of rights. Politically a citizen is entitled to rights with no requirement or condition of responsibility. Politically, we may desire and applaud or even reward responsible behavior, but we may not condition the rights on someone’s version of responsible use of the rights. Indeed, the real test is if people have rights who are generally thought to be irresponsible. See {633640} .


Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
  • Born: October 2, 1869
  • Died: January 30, 1948
  • Nationality: Indian
  • Profession: Lawyer, Anti-Colonial Nationalist, Political Ethicist

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist, who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and in turn inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā (Sanskrit: "great-souled", "venerable"), first applied to him in 1914 in South Africa, is now used throughout the world.