“How wonderful it would be if people did all they could for one other without seeking anything in return! One should never remember a kindness done, and never forget a kindness received.”

“The only true test of values, either of men or of things, is that of their ability to make the world a better place in which to live.”

“How would that premise stand up if he examined it? That was probably why the Communists were always cracking down on Bohemiansism. When you were drunk or when you committed adultery you recognised your own personal fallability of that so mutable substitute for the apostles’ creed, the party line. Down with Bohemianism, the sin of Majakowski.”

“As readers, we are seldom interested in the fine sentiments of a lesson learnt; we seldom care about the good manners of morals. Repentance puts an end to conversation; forgiveness becomes the stuff of moralistic tracts. Revenge – bloodthirsty, justice-hungry revenge – is the very essence of romance, lying at the heart of much of the best fiction.”

“More than a decade ago, a Supreme Court decision literally wiped off the books of fifty states statutes protecting the rights of unborn children. Abortion on demand now takes the lives of up to 1.5 million unborn children a year. Human life legislation ending this tragedy will some day pass the Congress, and you and I must never rest until it does. Unless and until it can be proven that the unborn child is not a living entity, then its right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness must be protected.”

“Integrity is doing what is right. Ethics is doing what is right for a society. The philosophy of ethics is very interesting and unsettling. Ethics often depends on societal beliefs, religious beliefs, personal beliefs, personal emotions, and the laws of a country. Honor killings are ethical in some societies even though they are considered evil acts for a civilized society. We should promote what is right for your conscience and for universal human rights. We can create a universal ethical stand point.”

“Ethics are not always ethical just as morals are not always moral.”

“He saw that science had become as great a hoax as religion, that nationalism was a farce, patriotism a fraud, education a form of leprosy, and that morals were for cannibals”

“People need a moral code, to help them make decisions. All this bio-yogurt virtue and financial self-righteousness are just filling the gap in the market. But the problem is that it’s all backwards. It’s not that you do the right thing and hope it pays off; the morally right thing is by definition the thing that gives the biggest payoff.”

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. I hold that the more helpless a creature the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of humankind.”