John Quincy Adams Quotes

A conscience without God is like a court without a judge.

That which is morally wrong will never be politically right.

A slur upon the moral government of the world

…we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.

To be ashamed of one's immorality: that is a step on the staircase at whose end one is also ashamed of one's morality.

I've always been interested in definitions, because in the Bible, the Ten Commandments are there but there's no real clear definition of what sin is, in a fundamental sense - how we can use the words to evaluate our lives as we go along: Am I doing something that is ethically good? Am I being worthwhile in my life at this moment?

I thank God that I left office the same way I came in: with integrity.

But if there is a just God, there is ultimate justice.

Conscience is the sentinel of virtue.

Judge me if you want to. And as a matter of fact, it won't even count, 'cause the only person who can judge is God.

Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.

To believe in a just law of cause and effect, carrying with it a punishment or a reward, is to believe in righteousness.

If Heaven had looked upon riches to be a valuable thing, it would not have given them to such a scoundrel.

Whatsoever is good; the same is also approved of God.

I am both stunned and appalled that Pat Robertson would claim to know the mind of God concerning whether particular events... were the judgments of God.

Regardless of what society says, we can't go on much longer in the sea of immorality without judgment coming.

My belief in a day of reckoning keeps me on the straight and narrow.

To God everything is beautiful, good, and just; humans, however, think some things are unjust and others just.

The gods behold all righteous actions.

I do not mean that you could continue to do this with propriety or even with safety; I merely assert that the power is, in point of fact, in your hands. And for such a power, what a responsibility to God and man!

Our concerns aren't always appropriate or morally elevated.

Atheism is aristocratic; the idea of a great Being that watches over oppressed innocence and punishes triumphant crime is altogether popular.

How dare you put yourself in that position where you are the moral judge?

The reformer is always right about what is wrong. He is generally wrong about what is right.

If you are a model to the Empire, then constant virtue will not be wanting [to the people].