Quotes
Quotes about Motive
Cruel and cold is the judgment of man, Cruel as winter, and cold as the snow; But by-and-by will the deed and the plan Be judged by the motive that lieth below.
Shocking writing is like murder: the questions the jury must decide are the questions of motive and intent.
Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind. -Eric Hoffer.
Fie, fie upon her! There's language in her eye, her cheek, her lip; Nay, her foot speaks. Her wanton spirits look out At every joint and motive of her body.
I am convinced that the majority of people would be generous from selfish motives, if they had the opportunity. - My Summer in a Garden.
The aim of morality is to give people a standard of action and a motive to work by which, they will not intensify each person's selfishness, but raise them up above it.
Iago's soliloquy--the motive-hunting of a motiveless malignity--how awful it is!
Men's minds are as variant as their faces. Where the motives of their actions are pure, the operation of the former is no more to be imputed to them as a crime, than the appearance of the latter; for both, being the work of nature, are alike unavoidable.
Every woman is supposed to have the same set of motives, or else to be a monster.
We would often be ashamed of our finest actions if the world understood all the motives which produced them.
We like so much to hear people talk of us and of our motives, that we are charmed even when they abuse us.
We are all selfish and I no more trust myself than others with a good motive.
A supreme love, a motive that gives a sublime rhythm to a woman's life, and exalts habit into partnership with the soul's highest needs, is not to be had where and how she wills.
Never ascribe to an opponent motives meaner than your own.
Every man without passions has within him no principle of action, nor motive to act.
...the crimes of violence committed for selfish, personal motives are historically insignificant compared to those committed ad majorem gloriam Dei, out of a self-sacrificing devotion to the flag, a leader, a religious faith or political conviction.
...we are apt to forget that the vast majority of men and women who fell under the totalitarian spell was activated by unselfish motives, ready to accept the role of martyr or executioner, as the cause demanded.
This is the constitutional limitation of man's knowledge and interests, the fact that he cannot know more than a tiny part of the whole of society and that therefore all that can enter into his motives are the immediate effects which his actions will have in the sphere he knows.
By annihilating the desires, you annihilate the mind. Every man without passions has within him no principle of action, nor motive to act.
It is a juvenile notion that a society needs a lofty purpose and a shining vision to achieve much. Both in the marketplace and on the battlefield men who set their hearts on toys have often displayed unequal initiative and drive. And one must be ignorant of the creative process to look for a close correspondence between motive and achievement in the world of thought and imagination.
There is no reason why humanity cannot be served equally by weighty and trivial motives.
The weak are not a noble breed. Their sublime deeds of faith, daring, and self-sacrifice usually spring from questionable motives. The weak hate not wickedness but weakness; and one instance of their hatred of weakness is hatred of self. All the passionate pursuits of the weak are in some degree a striving to escape, blur, or disguise an unwanted self. It is a striving shot through with malice, envy, self-deception, and a host of petty impulses; yet it often culminates in superb achievements.
Let the motive be in the deed and not in the event. Be not one whose motive for action is the hope of reward.
Selfishness, not love, is the actuating motive of the gallant.
All impediments in fancy's course Are motives of more fancy. -All 's Well that Ends Well. Act v. Sc. 3.
