Vittorio Alfieri Quotes

Men must be either the slaves of duty, or the slaves of force.

All the good of which humanity is capable is comprised in obedience.

Compulsion precedes morality, indeed morality itself is compulsion for a time, to which one submits for the avoidance of pain.

Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.

Freedom without virtue isn't freedom - it will eventually destroy a society.

While you live, while it is in your power, be good.

Do the right thing because it is right.

Performance of duty and observance of morality are convertible terms.

...guilt leads to righteous action, but rarely is it the right action.

To be good, and to do good, is all we have to do.

To be good, and do good, is the whole duty of man comprised in a few words.

Evil prevails when good people do nothing.

To be moral, correct, and virtuous is to be obedient to an old established law and custom.

The consideration that human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected will always continue to prompt me to promote the former by inculcating the practice of the latter.

Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness.

Justice is the sum of all moral duty.

Fear is the mother of morality.

Liberty without virtue would be no blessing to us.

Morality is a venereal disease. Its primary stage is called virtue; its secondary stage, boredom; its tertiary stage, syphilis.

We need to have a purpose in this life. I'm pleading with you, I'm begging with you to do the right thing. And do it not for the sake of how it will impact your own lives, but only for the sake of doing the right thing.

What is the purpose of our might if we do not use it for good.

The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it.

Morality is the best of all devices for leading mankind by the nose.

Virtue without terror is powerlessness.

Genuine religion is not about speculating about God or the soul or about what happened in the past or will happen in the future; it cares only about one thing—finding out exactly what should or should not be done in this lifetime.