Yet through virtuous living man is further ordained to a higher end, which consists in the enjoyment of God, as we have said above. Consequently, since society must have the same end as the individual man, it is not the ultimate end of an assembled multitude to live virtuously, but through virtuous living to attain to the possession of God.
— On Kingship to the King of Cyprus
If there is any societyamong robbers and murderers, they must at least. . . .abstainfrom robbing and murdering one another. So beneficenceis less essential than justice is to the existence of society; alack of beneficence will make a society uncomfortable, butthe prevalence of injustice will utterly destroy it.
— The Theory of Moral Sentiments
The world has narrowed to a neighbourhood before it has broadened to a brotherhood.
There is nothing more uncommon than common sense.
The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and ... people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion.
How long will it be necessary to pay City men so entirely out of proportion to what other servants of society commonly receive for performing social services not less useful or difficult?
Sports play a very important role in consolidating the national strength, adding lustre to the country's prestige and honour, inspiring people with national dignity and pride, and imbuing the whole society with revolutionary mettle.
A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past.
Business, labor and civil society organizations have skills and resources that are vital in helping to build a more robust global community.
America must be the teacher of democracy, not the advertiser of the consumer society. It is unrealistic for the rest of the world to reach the American living standard.
To reap a return in ten years, plant trees. To reap a return in 100, cultivate the people.
Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Your goodness must have some edge to it -- else it is none.
— Culture, Behavior, Beauty, Books, Art, Eloquence, Power, Wealth, Illusions
That I growed up a man and not a beast says something for me.
— The Chimes
Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future.
— The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays
This history of culture will explain to us the motives, the conditions of life, and the thought of the writer or reformer.
— War and Peace
In my opinion, the state of mind of a community is always directly due to the influence of the man at the top.
— Murder in Mesopotamia
But the Church cannot be, in any political sense, either conservative or liberal, or revolutionary. Conservatism is too often conservation of the wrong things: liberalism a relaxation of discipline; revolution a denial of the permanent things.
— Christianity and Culture: The Idea of a Christian Society and Notes Towards the Definition of Culture
To make them forget how bad human beings are, they were taught too insistently that bears are good. Instead of being told honestly what humans are and what bears are.
— How to Travel with a Salmon and Other Essays
I had come down here, not to serve God as a craftsman should, but to show my people how great a craftsman I was. They cared not.
— Puck of Pook's Hill
God makes Himself felt in the heart of each person. He also respects the culture of all people...God is open to all people. He calls everyone. He moves everyone to seek Him and to discover Him through creation.
— On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century
Unanimous hatred is the greatest medicine for a human community.
— Eumenides
The only difference between man and man all the world over is one of degree, and not of kind, even as there is between trees of the same species. Where in is the cause for anger, envy or discrimination?
Climate change knows no borders. It will not stop before the Pacific islands and the whole of the international community here has to shoulder a responsibility to bring about a sustainable development.