Personal Ethics Quotes

Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.

The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not.

I was brought up to never lie. Sure, I have. But in the final mix, the lies I've told are far outweighed by the truths I've lived.

The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.

When in doubt, tell the truth. That maxim I did invent, but never expected it to be applied to me. I did say, "When you are in doubt," but when I am in doubt myself I use more sagacity.

Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught.

I have never stolen. I am not a thief.

Courage combined with integrity is the foundation of character.

When I do things, I do things honestly.

The media doesn't need a conscience; people need consciences.

Religion can thrive only in a personal universe.

That's just the way: a person does a low-down thing, and then he don't want to take no consequences of it. Thinks as long as he can hide it, it ain't no disgrace.

If we try to define our own moral universe, there's a price for that.

Everyone tries to define this thing called Character. It's not hard. Character is doing what's right when nobody's looking.

We don't claim to have perfect morals, but at least we have a huge area of things that, while legal, are beneath us. We won't do them. Currently, there's a culture in Americathat says that anything that won't send you to prison is OK.

Well, the first and only time I went hunting, I shot a deer, and it mortified me. I just couldn't do it again. But I know a lot about guns, so I go to the gun range and stuff like that with friends sometimes.

Actually I don't know if honesty is a strength or some kind of weakness.

I think that the only ultimate guide we have is our conscience, and if the law of the land goes against our conscience I think we should disobey the law.

Morality is the herd-instinct in the individual.

What my thing is, I tell most of the time the truth, and sometimes it's good for me, sometimes it's bad. But, it's true.

As long as I'm not hurting anybody, I don't think that anything I do is wrong.

The only right is what is after my constitution; the only wrong is what is against it.

Manditory minimums were almost always excessive, and they made me feel unethical, even dirty.