Franz Grillparzer Quotes

Human wisdom makes as ill use of her talent when she exercises it in rescinding from the number and sweetness of those pleasures that are naturally our due, as she employs it favorably and well in artificially disguising and tricking out the ills of life to alleviate the sense of them.

If this isn’t good versus evil, what is?

I love Cillian Murphy's character in 'Peaky Blinders' and Tom Hardy's in 'Taboo' - theses are characters that, as audience members, we follow along with and root for. But our own morality is tested throughout that journey, because these characters ride a thin line between morality and amorality.

Gee, I wish that life were so black and white that you can't think of a single person who, you know, a good person who has done bad things.

I'm constantly not on the right side of history. I sympathize with the soldiers in the enemy's camp. For example in WWII, we know the Nazis and the Japanese were wrong. But I sympathize with the individual story of a soldier who was drafted into that.

I like the idea of a character that you wanna like even though you know he's making immoral choices throughout the film.

I feel like humans, when you're faced with decisions, you can go up and down: duality.

The thing that I love about 'Scandal' is every character, it's not clear if they're good or bad. Everyone is both good and bad.

A lot of the best villains are the ones that think they are right. That think they are the good guy.

Every nation necessarily inhabits a morally compromised space. All too often our ideals seem to be held to ransom by what we believe, rightly or wrongly, to be objective reality.

It is one of those problems of human nature, which may be noted down, but not solved; - although Ralph felt no remorse at that moment for his conduct towards the innocent, true-hearted girl; although his libertine clients had done precisely what he had expected, precisely what he most wished, and precisely what would tend most to his advantage, still he hated them for doing it, from the very bottom of his soul.

Goodness without wisdom always accomplishes evil.

Identify the moral dilemma driving the novel. the successful novel will haunt a reader because it deals with some ethical or moral dilemma that makes the reader wonder what he or she would do in the protagonist's place.

When honor and the Law no longer stand on the same side of the line, how do we choose[?]

A good thing which prevents us from enjoying a greater good is in truth an evil.

I am doing the right thing, he told himself, so why do I feel so bad?

Every time I tried to express my most heartfelt desires to be morally good I met with contempt and ridicule; and as soon as I would give in to vile passions I was praised and encouraged. Ambition, love of power, self-interest, lechery, pride, anger, vengeance-all of it was highly esteemed.

I tried to walk a line between acting lawfully AND testifying falsely, but I now realize that I did not fully accomplish that goal.

Be good only if being bad ain't more fun.

Are these things good for any other reason except that they end in pleasure, and get rid of and avert pain? Are you looking to any other standard but pleasure and pain when you call them good?

There are two kinds of people in this world, son. Those who save lives, and those who take lives." "And what of those who protect and defend? Those who save lives by taking lives?" "That's like trying to stop a storm by blowing harder. Ridiculous. You can't protect by killing.

You believe an eye for an eye until you are put in that situation. If they kill those guys, it really doesn't mean much to me. My father is gone.

All our Western thought is founded on this repulsive pretence that pain is the proper price of any good thing.

What will you do now?' I think I will become a monk and devote my entire life to prayer and good works.' No,' said Rek. 'I mean, what will you do today?' Ah! Today I'll get drunk and go whoring,' said Bowman.

Pleasure itself is painful at the bottom.