Isaac Bashevis Singer Quotes

Leadership is not manifested by coercion, even against the resented. Greatness is not manifested by unlimited pragmatism, which places such a high premium on the end justifying any means and any methods.

I think the greater responsibility, in terms of morality, is where leadership begins.

It is as hard and severe a thing to be a true politician as to be truly moral.

I have a pretty keen ethical compass.

Conscience is a man's compass, and though the needle sometimes deviates, though one often perceives irregularities in directing one's course by it, still one must try to follow its direction.

Those who are successfully to lead their fellow-men, should have once possessed the nobler feelings. We have all known individuals whose magnanimity was not likely to be troublesome on any occasion; but then they betrayed their own interests by unwisely omitting the consideration, that such feelings might exist in the breasts of those whom they had to guide and govern: for they themselves cannot even remember the time when in their eyes justice appeared preferable to expediency, the happiness of others to self-interest, or the welfare of a State to the advancement of a party.

Conscience is what? It is putting together a moral act and a moral ideal, and measuring the act by the ideal. It is putting this moral act which you do alongside the eternal laws of God, and seeing how it stands by those laws of God.

Leadership is all about right and wrong.

In war, character and opinion make more than half of the reality.

Yes, America must do the right thing, but to provide moral leadership, America must do it in the right way, too.

Call me old-fashioned, but I believe that morality is not just a matter of opinion.

Conscience is the sentinel of virtue.

We need to be clear when we venerate entrepreneurs what we are venerating. They are not moral leaders. If they were moral leaders, they wouldn't be great businessmen.

Corporate executives and business owners need to realize that there can be no compromise when it comes to ethics, and there are no easy shortcuts to success. Ethics need to be carefully sown into the fabric of their companies.

Anyone entrusted with power will abuse it if not also animated with the love of truth and virtue, no matter whether he be a prince, or one of the people.

The point never to lose sight of is to be guided by the correct thing, as you see it. It's the only way to approach such profound matters and retain your integrity.

The imperative is to define what is right and do it.

So you can't judge the character you're playing ever.

Do I think faith will be an important part of being a good president? Yes, I do.

I don't claim any moral or ethical high ground, but I also have chosen not to run for public office. Shouldn't there be a higher standard of conduct for public officials?

The individual makes a clear effort to define moral values and principles that have validity and application apart from the authority of the groups of persons holding them and apart from the individual's own identification with the group.

There's a great deal of difference between thinking reflectively about moral issues and achieving higher standards of ethical behavior.

Ethics are not necessarily to do with being law-abiding. I am very interested in the moral path, doing the right thing.

As I look at President Bush, I think he will ultimately be judged as a man of extremely high character.

Shakespeare pursued the highway of the right. He did not seek to put his characters in a position where it was right to do wrong.