Thomas More Quotes

Until you put these things to right, you're not entitled to boast of the justice meted out to thieves, for it's a justice more specious than real or social desirable. You allow these people to be brought up in the worst possible way, and systematically corrupted from their earliest years. Finally, when they grow up and commit the crimes that they were obviously destined to commit, ever since they were children, you start punishing them. In other words, you create thieves, and then punish them for stealing.

what you can’t put right you must try to make as little wrong as possible. For things will never be perfect, until human beings are perfect.

The Prince himself has no distinction, either of garments, or of a crown; but is only distinguished by a sheaf of corn carried before him; as the high priest is also known by his being preceded by a person carrying a wax light.

The most part of all princes have more delight in warlike manners and feats of chivalry than in the good feats of peace.

a happy state of society will never be achieved, until philosophers are kings, or kings take to studying philosophy.

But Nature granted to gold and silver no function with which we cannot easily dispense. Human folly has made them precious because they are rare. In contrast, Nature, like a most indulgent mother, has placed her best gifts out in the open, like air, water and the earth itself; vain and unprofitable things she has hidden away in remote places.

there is nothing more inglorious than that glory that is gained by war

for your lords are readier to feed idle people than to take care of the sick; and often the heir is not able to keep together so great a family as his predecessor did.

Ahlak felsefesinde, onlar da bizim bilginlerimizle aynı sorunlar üzerinde durmaktadırlar. Onlar da gerek insanın ruhunda ve bedeninde, gerek dış dünyada onu mutlu edebilecek şeyleri ararlar. Onlar da şunu sormaktadırlar kendi kendilerine: Acaba iyi dediğimiz şey hem ruhun, hem bedenin isteklerini mi karşılar, yoksa yalnız ruhun isteklerini mi? Onlar da erdem ve zevk üstüne tartışırlar. Ama asıl tartıştıkları sorun, insan mutluluğunun bir yek ya da birçok koşulunu aramaktır.

If honor were profitable, everybody would be honorable.

Ta hãy can đảm nhìn nhận thực tế, bạn sẽ không bao giờ có một cuộc sống bình thường được nữa. Bạn chỉ là mối phiền hà cho người khác và một gánh nặng cho chính bạn - thực tế là bạn tồn tại nhưng chẳng khác gì đã chết. Vậy tại sao phải tiếp tục nằm đây cho vi trùng đục ruỗng mình nữa? Cuộc đời đã khốn khổ đến vậy, sao còn nấn ná làm chi? Bạn đang là tù nhân trong một phòng tra tấn, sao không vượt thoát ra ngoài để tìm về một cõi tốt lành hơn? Chỉ cần bạn ngỏ lời, chúng tôi sẽ thu xếp cho bạn được giải thoát. Lẽ thường ai chẳng muốn được nhẹ nhàng.

Some men may be snared by beauty alone, but none can be held except by virtue and compliance.

This hellhound (pride) creepeth into men's hearts and plucketh them back from entering the right path of life and is so deeply rooted in men's breasts that she cannot be plucked out.

Show the sun with a lantern.

Then, too, the senate has a rule that no point is discussed on the same day it is brought up, but rather it is put off till the next meeting; they do this so that someone who blurts out the first thing that occurs to him will not proceed to think up arguments to defend his position instead of looking for what is of use to the commonwealth, being willing to damage the public welfare rather than his own reputation, ashamed, as it were, in a perverse and wrong-headed way, to admit that his first view was short-sighted. From the start such a person should have taken care to speak with deliberation rather than haste.