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Action Quotes

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Action Quotes

“Instead of your ego directing you and making countless mistakes, allow yourself to be guided by the invisible principles of the universe within your action.”

Action Universe Mistake Principles Health Buddhism Ego Invisible Athletics

Book:Surfing the Himalayas: conversations and travels with Master Fwap

Source: Surfing the Himalayas: conversations and travels with Master Fwap

“The true patriot scrutinizes the actions of his own government with unceasing vigilance. And when his government violates the morality and rightness associated with principles of individual freedom and private property, he immediately rises in opposition to his government.”

Government Action Individual Principles Morality Property Opposition Nationalism Patriot Private Property Vigilance Individual Freedom Scrutinize

Book:The tyranny of gun control

Source: The tyranny of gun control

“To derive two or three general Principles of Motion from Phænomena, and afterwards to tell us how the Properties and Actions of all corporeal Things follow from those manifest Principles, would be a very great step in Philosophy.”

Two Philosophy Would Be Action Science Three Steps Principles Property Phenomenon Manifest

Book:Opticks: A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections, and Colours of Light

Source: Opticks: A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections, and Colours of Light

“In Critical and baffling situations, it is always best to return to first principle and simple action”

Firsts Action Simple Situation Principles Military Return Critical

Author:Winston Churchill

“While brother Joseph was referring to the provinces of God, I was led to reflect that there is no act, no principle, no power belonging to the Deity that is purely philosophical. The birth of the Saviour was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood - was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers.”

“Those who yearn for the end of capitalism should pray for government by men who believe that all positive action is inimical to what they call thoughtfully the fundamental principles of free enterprise.”

Men Should Believe Ends Government Action Principles Praying Capitalism Fundamentals Enterprise Free Enterprise Fundamental Principles

Author:John Kenneth Galbraith

“I mean that it is more natural for me to be wicked than virtuous, when I do a bad act, and I've done many, I never feel wither shame, remorse or fear, I sometimes wish it was not necessary as I don't like the trouble, but as for any moral sense of principle, I haven't a particle. Many people are like me as actions prove, but they are not so frank in owning it and insist on keeping up the humbug of virtue.”

People Feels Mean Sometimes Done Action Wish Natural Moral Principles Virtue Trouble Havens Prove Shame Like Me Wicked Frank Virtuous Remorse Particles Humbug Owning It

Author:Louisa May Alcott

“An idea is growing in foreign policy circles in Washington ... that there is no turning back. We are stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan for 25 to 40 years, we are embedded in our prideful unilateralism, and nothing can return us to more traditional American values and principles of action. The hubristic creators of this "inevitability" planned it this way. ... Their failures in Iraq have not stopped the fanatic, power-hungry neoconservatives. ... The hard-liners who dominate this administration ... have led us to eternal conflict with Muslims.”

“The task of the political philosopher can only be to influence public opinion, not to organize people for action. He will do so effectively only if he is not concerned with what is now politically possible but consistently defends the "general principles which are always the same." In this sense I doubt whether there can be such a thing as a conservative political philosophy. Conservatism may often be a useful practical maxim, but it does not give us any guiding principles which can influence long-range developments.”

“God should be the object of all our desires, the end of all our actions, the principle of all our affections, and the governing power of our whole souls.”

Should Soul Ends Whole God Action Desire Principles Objects Affection Our Actions Governing

Author:Jean Baptiste Massillon

“[Critical social science attempts] to determine when theoretical statements grasp invariant regularities of social action as such and when they express ideologically frozen relations of dependence that can in principle be transformed.”

Action Social Principles Relation Determine Critical Statements Transformed Dependence Frozen Theoretical Social Science Regularity Social Action

Author:Jurgen Habermas

“Invariably will you find perseverance exemplified as the radical principle in every truly great character. It facilitates, perfects, and consolidates the execution of the plan conceived, and renders profitable its results when attained. By continuing to advance steadily in the same way, light constantly increases, obstacles disappear, efficient habits are confirmed, experience is acquired, the use of the best means is reduced to easy action, and success becomes more sure.”

Source: Proverbs for the people: or, Illustrations of practical godliness drawn from the Book of wisdom

“If the subjectivist view hold true, thinking cannot be of any help in determining the desirability of any goal in itself. The acceptability of ideals, the criteria for our actions and beliefs, the leading principles of ethics and politics, all our ultimate decisions are made to depend upon factors other than reason. They are supposed to be matters of choice and predilection, and it has become meaningless to speak of truth in making practical, moral or esthetic decisions.”

“Past violence is detrimental to our present action, and it is not in the name of principles that we denounce it, but in the name of efficiency.”

Action Past Names Principles Violence Efficiency Detrimental

Author:Pierre Bourgault

“Selfishness is the grand moving principle of nine-tenths of our actions.”

Action Moving Principles Nine Selfishness Motive Our Actions

Author:Francois de La Rochefoucauld

“Self-love is a principle of action; but among no class of human beings has nature so profusely distributed this principle of life and action as through the whole sensitive family of genius.”

Humans Self Whole Action Human Beings Love Is Class Principles Self Love Genius Sensitive

Author:Isaac D'Israeli

“Self-determination is not a mere phrase. It is an imperative principle of action, which statesmen will henceforth ignore at their peril.”

Self Action Principles Determination Mere Phrases Self Determination Peril Imperatives Statesmen

Book:The papers of Woodrow Wilson

Source: The papers of Woodrow Wilson

“Virtue will catch as well as vice by contact; and the public stock of honest manly principle will daily accumulate. We are not too nicely to scrutinize motives as long as action is irreproachable. It is enough (and for a worthy man perhaps too much) to deal out its infamy to convicted guilt and declared apostasy.”

Source: The Writings and Speeches of Edmund Burke: On Conciliation with America; Security of the Independence of Parliament; on Mr. Fox's East India

“Better that we should err in action than wholly refuse to perform. The storm is so much better than the calm, as it declares the presence of a living principle. Stagnation is something worse than death. It is corruption also.”

Should Action Principles Calm Refuse Corruption Storm Stagnation

Book:Egeria: Or Voices of Thought and Counsel, for the Woods and Wayside

Source: Egeria: Or Voices of Thought and Counsel, for the Woods and Wayside

“It is not possible to found a lasting power upon injustice, perjury, and treachery. These may, perhaps, succeed for once, and borrow for awhile, from hope, a gay and flourishing appearance. But time betrays their weakness, and they fall into ruin of themselves. For, as in structures of every kind, the lower parts should have the greatest firmness--so the grounds and principles of actions should be just and true.”

Source: All the orations of Demosthenes, pronounced to excite the Athenians against Philip King of Macedon: Translated into English; digested and connected, so as to form a regular history of the progress of the Macedonian power: with notes historical and critical. By Thomas Leland, ...

“Holiness is religious principle put into motion. It is the love of God sent forth into circulation, on the feet, and with the hands of love to men. It is faith gone to work. It is charity coined into actions, and devotion breathing benedictions on human suffering, while it goes up in intercession to the Father of all piety.”

Source: Sermons for the People

“It is in vain to expect any advantage from our profession of the truth, if we be not sincerely just and honest in our actions.”

Ifs Action Principles Honest Advantage Profession Vain Sincerely Our Actions

Author:James Sharp

“We frequently fall into error and folly, not because the true principles of action are not known, but because for a time they are not remembered; he may, therefore, justly be numbered among the benefactors of mankind who contracts the great rules of life into short sentences that may early be impressed on the memory, and taught by frequent recollection to occur habitually to the mind.”

Mind May Action Fall Memories Known Principles Mankind Taught Errors Sentences Remembered Folly Contracts Impressed Recollection Benefactors Rules Of Life

Book:The beauties of Johnson: choice selections from his works

Source: The beauties of Johnson: choice selections from his works

“The love of action is a principle of a much stronger and more doubtful nature. It often leads to anger, to ambition, and to revenge; but when it is guided by the sense of propriety and benevolence, it becomes the parent of every virtue, and, if those virtues are accompanied with equal abilities, a family, a state, or an empire may be indebted for their safety and prosperity to the undaunted courage of a single man.”

Source: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

“Nature herself, as has been often said, requires that we should be able, not only to work well, but to use leisure well; for, as I must repeat once again, the first principle of all action is leisure. Both are required, but leisure is better than occupation and is its end.”

Should Firsts Wells Has Beens Said Ends Use Able Action Education Principles Repeats Occupation Leisure

Book:Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation

Source: Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation

“Take the case of just actions; just punishments and chastisements do indeed spring from a good principle, but they are good only because we cannot do without them - it would be better that neither individuals nor states should need anything of the sort - but actions which aim at honor and advantage are absolutely the best. The conditional action is only the choice of a lesser evil; whereas these are the foundation and creation of good. A good man may make the best even of poverty and disease, and the other ills of life.”

Source: Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 2: The Revised Oxford Translation

“But the Lacedaemonians, who make it their first principle of action to serve their country's interest, know not any thing to be just or unjust by any measure but that.”

Knows Firsts Country Action Interest Principles Unjust

Book:Plutarch's Lives: The Translation Called Dryden's Corrected from the Greek

Source: Plutarch's Lives: The Translation Called Dryden's Corrected from the Greek

“There is one central characteristic of anarchism on the matter of means, and that central principle is a principle of direct action - of not going through the forms that the society offers you, of representative government, of voting, of legislation, but directly taking power.”

Mean Matter Government Action Form Principles Offers Direct Characteristics Voting Representatives Legislation Anarchism Direct Action Representative Government

Author:Howard Zinn

“The idea of direct action against the evil that you want to overcome is a kind of common denominator for anarchist ideas and anarchist movements. I think one of the most important principles of anarchism is that you cannot separate means and ends. Anarchism requires means and ends to be in line with one another. I think this is in fact one of the distinguishing characteristics of anarchism.”

Thinking Want Kind Mean Important Ideas Ends Facts Action Evil Lines Common Principles Movement Direct Overcoming Characteristics Anarchism Anarchist Common Denominator Direct Action

Author:Howard Zinn