Moral Code Quotes

“Gran used to say, Never mind what others think; it's what you think that matters. And I agree. One must live by their own moral code, not follow like a sheep blindly.”
― Nita Prose, The Maid

“In the West, of course, God has been dead for some time. What remains is religion as social belief, which is at best a moral code and at worst social etiquette.”
― John Ralston Saul, Voltaire's Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West

“When you etch your moral code in stone, you have no room for editing. You leave open the possibility that, as our ethical views evolve, your code becomes less relevant. You could find yourself with four of ten divine moral laws describing how to treat God and zero that prohibit rape or slavery.”
― David G. McAfee

“Our entire lives we witness individuals, the ones who break some of the most culturally sensitive moral codes, ruined permanently by the media - i.e. shamed ruthlessly by the masses - i.e. dragged horribly by the village. While this is often intended to serve as a deterrent for the rest of us not to do anything too stupid, many of us choose to do stupid things anyway; and surely it is because the lot of us regard it simply as a challenge to bravery and a temptation to try to rise above or sneak past the law, to outsmart the justice system: I'm afraid the notion 'It'll never happen to me' is one of mankind's greatest hits.”
― Criss Jami, Healology

“Moreover, and of course, she loved him; but in Sefton's stern code her love had always been chained up, and howled fruitlessly, as indeed it did now.”
― Iris Murdoch, The Green Knight

“What is freedom?
Is it moving through a room unhindered, in any direction you want, fast or slow? Or is it being able to think any thought whatsoever, high or low, without shame or fear? Is freedom being able to openly express your convictions, and then trying to influence others to think the same thing? Or is freedom having the possibility to choose, being able to say no to what you don't want?
[...]
Freedom, thought Phillip Mouse, would be to outwit the limitations fate had once given him. To break out of the social, intellectual, and emotional framework that the factory [birthplace] and his youth had defined.
Freedom, thought Mouse, was to surprise life by placing yourself above your fate.”
― Tim Davys, Tourquai

“Count the blessings that others give you more frivolously than you count your own.”
― Billy Richard Zylla

“Our moral code prizes 'do no harm.' It emphasizes the utilitarian spirit - what maximizes happiness for the greatest number of people?”
― Rachel Gilson, Born Again This Way

“These forms are artificial; if they exist they have to be made. Sexual love is natural, but marriage is not. The impulse to sing is natural, but language and the forms of song are not.”
― Wendell Berry