Literary notes about moral (AI summary)
The word "moral" appears in literature with a wide range of functions, from defining the ethical standards that must prevail in legal and social contexts ([1], [2]) to setting the tone for character and personal responsibility ([3], [4]). It frequently denotes an internal compass or law—whether in debates over self-esteem and duty ([5], [6]), or in teaching moments embedded within narratives and fables that conclude with a lesson ([7], [8]). At times, it points to an elevated realm of philosophical inquiry, challenging readers to measure human behavior against transcendent ideals ([9], [10]), while in other instances it underscores the critical judgment that frames characters’ actions or societal practices ([11], [12]).
- Moral predilections must not be allowed to influence our minds in settling legal distinctions.
— from The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes - Moral right far outweighs apparent expediency.
— from De Officiis by Marcus Tullius Cicero - When one is placed in the position of guardian, one has to adopt a very high moral tone on all subjects.
— from The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People by Oscar Wilde - With few exceptions, I found the teachers in these country schools to be miserably poor in preparation for their work, and poor in moral character.
— from Up from Slavery: An Autobiography by Booker T. Washington - Now the propensity to self-esteem is one of the inclinations which the moral law checks, inasmuch as that esteem rests only on morality.
— from The Critique of Practical Reason by Immanuel Kant - For in this sphere action is absolutely necessary, that is, I must act in obedience to the moral law in all points.
— from The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant - Kind reader, draw the moral if you're able: I give you here the naked fable.
— from Fables of La Fontaine — a New Edition, with Notes by Jean de La Fontaine - Every fiction should have a moral; and, what is more to the purpose, the critics have discovered that every fiction has.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - Moral scepticism can no more be refuted or proved by logic than intellectual scepticism can.
— from The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy by William James - And the church is seconded by the philosophers: the of "a moral order of the universe" permeates the whole development even of more modern philosophy.
— from The Twilight of the Idols; or, How to Philosophize with the Hammer. The Antichrist by Nietzsche - We must love or hate—acquit or condemn—censure or pity—exert our detestable coxcombry of moral judgment upon every thing.
— from The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 2 by Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb - She's a perfect vulture, you know; and she hasn't the least moral sense.
— from The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
