Hosea Ballou Quotes

Were there no desire there would be no virtue, and because one man desires what another does not, who shall say whether the child of his desire be Vice or Virtue?

The difference is too nice - Where ends the virtue or begins the vice.

The idea of goodies and baddies has always fascinated me, and what people consider to be a goodie or a baddie, because I've never seen any of my characters as baddies.

The virtues and vices are all put in motion by interest.

I don't believe in good people and bad people.

We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.

There is a heroism in crime as well as in virtue. Vice and infamy have their altars and their religion.

I don't really believe in evil at all.

There is the moral spectrum in 'Fargo,' and you see it in other Coen brothers movies, where you have a very good character on one end and a very bad character on the other.

He who hates vice hates men.

Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil.

There is no right in acting.

Heaven and hell suppose two distinct species of men, the good and the bad. But the greatest part of mankind float betwixt vice and virtue.

An animal takes freely anything that it wishes: it commits no sin and is not held responsible for its action because it knows no better. But as soon as the idea of 'mine' and 'thine' has been imprinted upon our consciousness, then also the responsibility comes.

As for morality, well that's all tied up with the question of consciousness.

It seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones slept better while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more.

Men are more moral than they think and far more immoral than they can imagine.

Immorality: the morality of those who are having a better time.

Evil is always possible. Goodness is a difficulty.

Morals are an acquirement -- like music, like a foreign language, like piety, poker, paralysis -- no man is born with them.

The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be either good or evil.

A man's conscience and his judgment is the same thing, and, as the judgment, so also the conscience may be erroneous.

To me, evil comes when you have a choice between that and good, and you choose the wrong way.

Our virtues are often, in reality, no better than vices disguised.

All my books are an inquiry into the nature of evil. Why do good people do bad things? Are any human beings completely evil? Do we all have good within us? That's what I'm interested in.