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Human Nature Quotes

Browse 4693 quotes about Human Nature.

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Human Nature Quotes

“... it is not the color of the skin that makes the man or the woman, but the principle formed in the soul. Brilliant wit will shine, come from whence it will; and genius and talent will not hide the brightness of its lustre.”

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Book:Maria W. Stewart, America's First Black Woman Political Writer: Essays and Speeches
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“I wished to acquire the simplicity, native feelings, and virtues of savage life; to divest myself of the factitious habits, prejudices and imperfections of civilization; ... and to find, amidst the solitude and grandeur of the western wilds, more correct views of human nature and of the true interests of man. The season of snows was preferred, that I might experience the pleasure of suffering, and the novelty of danger.”

MenHumansFeelingsMightSufferingInterestPleasureViewsVirtueHuman NatureDangerHabitCivilizationSolitudeSeasonsPrejudiceWesternSimplicitySnowAcquireNativeImperfectionSavagesNoveltyGrandeur
Book:Evans's Pedestrious Tour
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“There are three kinds of nature in man, as Nicetas Stethatos further explains: the carnal man, who wants to live for his own pleasure, even if it harms others; the natural man, who wants to please both himself and others; and the spiritual man, who wants to please only God, even if it harms himself. The first is lower than human nature, the second is normal, the third is above nature; it is life in Christ.”

IfsMenWantFirstsHumansKindSpiritualThreeChristNaturalPleasureHuman NaturePleaseNormalThirdsHarmAsceticism
Author:Tito Colliander
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“Thus, experience has ever shown, that education, as well as religion, aristocracy, as well as democracy and monarchy, are, singly, totally inadequate to the business of restraining the passions of men, of preserving a steady government, and protecting the lives, liberties, and properties of the people . . . . Religion, superstition, oaths, education, laws, all give way before passions, interest, and power, which can be resisted only by passions, interest, and power.”

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Author:John Adams
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“The form of government which you admire, when its principles are pure is admirable indeed. It is productive of every Thing which is great and excellent among men. But its principles are as easily destroyed as human nature is corrupted. Such a government is only to be supported by pure religion or Austere morals.”

MenHumansGovernmentFormReligionMoralPrinciplesHuman NatureMoralityPureAdmireDestroyedExcellentProductiveAdmirableForms Of Government
Book:Warren-Adams Letters: Being Chiefly a Correspondence Among John Adams, Samuel Adams, and James Warren ... 1743-1814
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“[T]he liberty, the unalienable, indefeasible rights of men, the honor and dignity of human nature, the grandeur and glory of the public, and the universal happiness of individuals, were never so skillfully and successfully consulted as in that most excellent monument of human art, the common law of England.”

MenHumansArtLawIndividualFreedomCommonLibertyRightsHuman NatureHonorGloryDignityUniversalEnglandExcellentMonumentGrandeurCommon LawUnalienable Rights
Book:The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: With a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations
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“Fun... human nature... does no one any harm... Regular as clockwork the old excuses came back into the alert, sad and dissatisfied brain--nothing ever matched the deep excitement of the regular desire. Men always failed you when it came to the act. She might just as well have been to the pictures.”

MenHumansWellsDoeHas BeensMightDesireFunBrainHuman NatureExcuseHarmExcitementDissatisfiedMatchedClockwork
Book:The Collected Edition: Brighton rock
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“I believe that He was made man, joining the human nature with the divine in one person; being conceived by the singular operation of the Holy Ghost, and born of the blessed Virgin Mary, who, as well after as before she brought Him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin.”

MenBelieveHumansWellsPersonsMadeI BelieveBornHuman NatureDivineHolyPureBlessedGhostOperationsMaryVirginsJoiningHoly GhostVirgin MaryBlessed Virgin Mary
Book:The Works of the Rev. John Wesley: The doctrine of original sin, and tracts on various subjects of polemical divinity
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“Many a man's reputation would not know his character if they met on the street.”

IfsKnowsMenCharacterStreetsHuman NatureHonorIntegrityMetsReputationHypocrisyGood CharacterGreat CharacterIntegrity And CharacterIntegrity CharacterGood ReputationHonor And IntegrityBuilding CharacterMan Of IntegrityPersonality FlawsCharacter And ReputationCharacter Of A ManImage And Reputation
Book:Contemplations: Being Several Short Essays Helpful Sermonettes, Epigrams and Orphic Sayings
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“In fact, the libertarian would reason that the fact that human nature is a mixture of both good and evil provides its own particular argument in his favor. For if man is such a mixture, then the best societal framework is surely one in which evil is discouraged and the good encouraged. The libertarian maintains that the existence of the State apparatus provides a ready, swift channel for the exercise of evil, since the rulers of the State are thereby legitimated and can wield compulsion in ways that no one else is permitted to do.”

IfsMenWayHumansStatesReasonFactsEvilExistenceHuman NatureParticularReadyExerciseArgumentLibertarianFavorsGood And EvilRulersMixturesDiscouragedFrameworkCompulsion
Author:Murray Rothbard
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“Before modern man can gain control over the forces that now threaten his very existence, he must resume possession of himself. This sets the chief mission for the city of the future: that of creating a visible regional and civic structure, designed to make man at home with his deeper self and his larger world, attached to images of human nature and love.”

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Author:Lewis Mumford
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“You might declare that global warming and energy insecurity, not to mention urban sprawl and pollution, have intensified the sin of indulging one's motoring desires. And I would not argue with that point. You're right. I am a bad man. But over the long term, if you want to develop a new transportation and energy policy, you'd probably want to err on the side of assuming that people won't change much. And it is human nature to like to be empowered.”

PeopleIfsMenWantHumansLongMightDesireEnergySidesTermSinHuman NaturePolicyAssumingArguingLong TermGlobal WarmingInsecurityPollutionUrbanEmpoweredTransportationBad ManEnergy PolicyUrban Sprawl
Author:Joel Achenbach
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“...in the acquisition of this blessing human nature can find no better helper than Love. I declare that it is the duty of every man to honour Love, and I honour and practice the mysteries of Love in an especial degree myself, and recommend the same to others, and I praise the power and valour of Love to the best of my ability both now and always.”

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Author:Socrates
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“To ask for overt renunciation of a cherished doctrine is to expect too much of human nature. Men do not repudiate the doctrines and dogmas to which they have sworn their loyalty. Instead they rationalize, revise, and re-interpret them to meet new needs and new circumstances, all the while protesting that their heresy is the purest orthodoxy.”

MenNeedsHumansAsksToo MuchHuman NatureCircumstancesLoyaltyDoctrineDogmaHeresyOrthodoxyRenunciationRationalize
Author:J. William Fulbright
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“We consider the Holocaust as being a sort of strange event taking place on another planet; we never understood in a visceral way that this is something that took place in the heart of man. That's something that you can feel, the genocidal tendency is within human nature. It seems that if we forget about this, our future is also compromised.”

IfsMenWayFeelsHumansHeartSeemsForgetEventsHuman NatureStrangePlanetsUnderstoodTendenciesOur FutureHolocaustVisceral
Author:Laszlo Nemes
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“For my generation - the "Children of Nixon," as I call us in the book - the Lebanese civil war was an iconic event. Downtown Beirut became a metaphor for so many things: man's inhumanity to man, what Charles Bukowski called "the impossibility of being human." It shaped our perceptions of war and human nature, just as Vietnam did for our parents. We used it to understand how the world works.”

MenWorldHumansChildrenBookWarUsedParentGenerationsEventsHuman NaturePerceptionMetaphorCivil WarVietnamBeing HumanImpossibilityMy GenerationIconicDowntownInhumanityBeirutLebaneseInhumanity To Man
Author:Annia Ciezadlo
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“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”

MenInspirationalHelpingSuccessCan DoKindnessHuman NatureRespectHumorousTreatsCharityWittyHelping OthersGood ManFavouriteDoing GoodInsperationalService To OthersEssayistsGreat CharacterCustomer ExperienceHelp YourselfHumannessMoralistMotivational LeadershipHuman QualitiesTrue CharacterMeasure Of A ManUlterior MotiveInspirational CharacterSurround Yourself With Good PeopleJudge Of CharacterPersonal QualitiesCharacter Of A PersonTrue Measure Of A Man
Author:Samuel Johnson
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“In politics, the definition of a real man is different from, I would say, outside Washington or outside the establishment. I don't think that's even arguable. But human nature is what it is, and men (straight men) want women. And it's always a challenge. It's never a piece of cake. You're rejected. You know Woody Allen? One funny thing he really said. Somebody said, "Woody, what has success meant?" He said, "It means being rejected by a higher class of woman." Life is filled with rejection. Men - nobody - women, they don't like rejection.”

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Author:Rush Limbaugh
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“What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”

IfsMenHumansGovernmentWould BeNatureLibertyHuman NatureReflectionAngelInternalsPatrioticFederal GovernmentFreedom And LibertyFreedom LibertyDemocracies HaveFederalistLimiting GovernmentFederalist PapersNatural RightsSeparation Of PowersEternal VigilanceLiberty And JusticeGovernment And SocietyControlling Government
Author:James Madison
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“Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.”

MenWorldLifeHumansDoeFreedomAnimalResponsibilityHuman NatureResponsibleExistentialismThrownExistentialTaking ResponsibilityPersonal ResponsibilityBeing FreeCondemningNauseaResponsibility For Your LifeResponsibilities In Life
Book:The Philosophical Library Existentialism Collection: Essays in Metaphysics, The Ethics of Ambiguity, and The Philosophy of Existentialism
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“I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success ... Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything.”

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Author:Nikola Tesla
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“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”

MenSelfHuman NatureSelf EsteemIdentityAcceptanceInspirational LifeConfidenceSelf LoveIntegrityComfortableSelf ConfidenceEsteemHypocrisySelf AcceptanceGood LifeApprovalHave ConfidenceRespect YourselfSelf Esteem And ConfidenceBoost Your ConfidenceConfidence BuildingIntegrity And CharacterIntegrity CharacterHonor And IntegrityJust Love YourselfBuilding ConfidenceConfidence And LoveInspiring Self EsteemLove My SelfMan Of IntegrityLove And AcceptanceConfidence LoveBuilding Self ConfidenceLove AcceptanceSelf Respect In LoveAccepting LoveLost ConfidenceSelf Respect And LoveSelf Confidence BuildingSelf Esteem BuildingBuilding Self EsteemSelf ApprovalHealthy Self Esteem
Book:Mark Twain's Essays: Top Essays
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