Selfish Quotes
More Selfish Quotes
If your actions are motivated by selfish interests rather than God, you are mortgaging tomorrow's joy.
t. b. joshua— On the 2007 Nigerian Elections - "Selfless Service" Modern Ghana (May 28 2009)
The great danger for family life, in the midst of any society whose idols are pleasure, comfort and independence, lies in the fact that people close their hearts and become selfish.
Pope John Paul II— Homily during the Holy Mass at the Capital Mall in Washington, D.C., on 7 October 1979, during the pope's first apostolic journey to the United StatesSource: Libreria Editrice Vaticana
To have known the man was even as great a treat as to read his books. Lewis Carroll was as unlike any other man as his books were unlike any other author's books. It was a relief to meet the pure simple, innocent dreamer of children, after the selfish commercial mind of most authors.
harry furniss— On Lewis Carroll; p.105
'Tis rushing now adown the spout, And gushing out below, Half frantic in its joyousness, And wild in eager flow. The earth is dried and parched with heat, And it hath long'd to be Released from out the selfish cloud, To cool the thirsty tree.
— Elizabeth Oakes Smith, Water.
"I can't love it - what is there to love? It can't love me - or you either; it can't understand a single word you say to it, or feel one spark of gratitude for all your kindness. Wait till it can show some little affection for me, and then I'll see about loving it. At present it is nothing more than a little selfish, senseless sensualist, and if you see anything adorable in it, it's all very well - I only wonder how you can."
anne brontë— Arthur to Helen (Ch. XXVIII : Parental Feelings)
Gentlemen of the Jury: The one, absolute, unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog.
George GGraham Vest— Eulogy on the Dog. Found in Elbert Hubbard's Pig-Pen Pete, p. 178.
The United States has lost her unique position as a leader in the progress of civilization and has taken up her place simply as one of the grasping and selfish nations of the present day.
— An imperial moment: in previous times of war fever, clear voices have called for a return to U.S. ideals, The Nation, December 23, 2002, No. 22, Vol. 275; Pg. 16
If my love is without sacrifice , it is selfish . Such a love is barter, for there is exchange of love and devotion in return for something. It is conditional love.
— J.P Vaswani, in How to Overcome Depression and other Heart-to-Heart Talks, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 30 December 2011, p.23
If my love is without sacrifice , it is selfish . Such a love is barter , for there is exchange of love and devotion in return for something. It is conditional love.
— Sadhu Vaswani, in How to OVERCOME DEPRESSION and other Heart-to-Heart Talks, p.23
The world is a king, and like a king, desires flattery in return for favor; but true art is selfish and perverse — it will not submit to the mold of flattery.
Ludwig van Beethoven— Conversations (March 1879)
We are the earth his word must sow like wheatAnd, if it finds no earth, it cannot grow.We are his earth, the mortal and the dying,Led by no star — the sullen and the slut,The thief, the selfish man, the barren woman,Who have betrayed him once and will betray him,Forget his words, be great a moment's spaceUnder the strokes of chance,And then sink back into our small affairs.And yet, unless we go, his message fails.
stephen vincent benét— Innkeeper's wife
Curiosity is natural to the soul of man and interesting objects have a powerful influence on our affections. Let these influencing powers actuate, by the permission or disposal of Providence, from selfish or social views, yet in time the mysterious will of Heaven is unfolded, and we behold our conduct, from whatever motives excited, operating to answer the important designs of heaven.
daniel boone— As quoted in the opening lines of "The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boon; containing a Narrative of the Wars of Kentucke" in The Discovery, Settlement And present State of Kentucke (1784) by John Filson.
It is absurd to suppose, if this is God’s world, that men must always be selfish barbarians.'
charles fletcher dole— The Coming People (1897)
It is just as foolish to complain that people are selfish and treacherous as it is to complain that the magnetic field does not increase unless the electric field has a curl. Both are laws of nature.
john von neumann— As quoted "John von Neumann (1903 - 1957)" by Eugene Wigner, in Year book of the American Philosophical Society (1958); later in Symmetries and Reflections : Scientific Essays of Eugene P. Wigner (1967), p. 261
And it's not for the sake of a ribboned coat,Or the selfish hope of a season's fame,But his Captain's hand on his shoulder smote --'Play up! play up! and play the game!'
henry newbolt— Describing a game of cricket.
— Vitai Lampada
Glory builtOn selfish principles is shame and guilt.
william cowper— William Cowper, Table Talk, line 1
The moment a mere numerical superiority by either states or voters in this country proceeds to ignore the needs and desires of the minority, and for their own selfish purpose or advancement, hamper or oppress that minority, or debar them in any way from equal privileges and equal rights—that moment will mark the failure of our constitutional system.
— Franklin D. Roosevelt, Radio broadcast (March 2, 1930)
A writer arrived at the monastery to write a book about the Master. "People say you are a genius . Are you?" he asked. "You might say so." said the Master, none too modestly. "And what makes one a genius?" "The ability to recognize." "Recognize what?" "The butterfly in a caterpillar: the eagle in an egg; the saint in a selfish human being."
anthony de mello— Genius (One Minute Wisdom (1989))
It seemed that the time would come evolutionarily when humans might have acquired enough knowledge of generalized principles to permit a graduation from class-two (entropically selfish) evolution into class-one (syntropically cooperative) evolution, thereafter making all the right moves for all the right reasons.
buckminster fuller— Pg. 246 (Afterpiece)
Every selfish motive therefore, every family attachment, ought to recommend such a system of policy as would provide no less carefully for the rights and happiness of the lowest than of the highest orders of Citizens.
george mason— May 31
Whenever the general disposition of the people is such, that each individual regards those only of his interests which are selfish, and does not dwell on, or concern himself for, his share of the general interest, in such a state of things, good government is impossible.
john stuart mill— Ch. II: The Criterion of a Good Form of Government (p. 167)
Without the body the brain would, of course, become a mere selfish intelligence, without any of the emotional substratum of the human being.
— Book II, Ch. 2
When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone.
tennessee williams— Don Quixote in Prologue
The G?t? was not preached either as a pastime for persons tired out after living a worldly life in the pursuit of selfish motives nor as a preparatory lesson for living such worldly life; but in order to give philosophical advice as to how one should live his worldly life with an eye to Release ( mok?a ) and as to the true duty of human beings in worldly life.
— Bal Gangadhar Tilak, "Gita Rahasya", Tilak Brothers, translator: Bhalchandra Sitaram Sukthankar, 13th edition, Author's Preface. (The original quote is in Marathi.)
Few human creatures would consent to be changed into any of the lower animals for a promise of the fullest allowance of a beast’s pleasures; no intelligent human being would consent to be a fool, no instructed person would be an ignoramus, no person of feeling and conscience would be selfish and base, even though they should be persuaded that the fool, the dunce, or the rascal is better satisfied with his lot than they are with theirs.
john stuart mill— John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism, Ch. 2 (1861)
Selfishness and demagoguery take advantage of liberty. The selfish hand constantly seeks to control government, and every increase of governmental power, even to meet just needs, furnishes opportunity for abuse and stimulates the effort to bend it to improper uses.
charles evans hughes— Charles Evans Hughes, Conditions of Progress in Democratic Government (1909).
Where all are selfish, the sage is no better than the fool, and only rather more dangerous.
james anthony froude— James Anthony Froude, Short Studies on Great Subjects, Party Politics.
To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don't isolate.
Michael Jordan
selfish hedonism is not a pejorative. It is a description — an exactly accurate description of what is involved in homosexual relations.
alan keyes— Party for the President, September 2, 2004.[40]
