#SelfRighteousness

2026-01-26

A quotation from Fénelon

God bears with imperfect beings, even when they resist his goodness. We ought to imitate this merciful patience and endurance. It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others.

François Fénelon (1651-1715) French Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet, writer [François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon]
Letter (1710-10-11) to Duchess de Montemart

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/fenelon-francois/816…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #fenelon #francoisfenelon #complaint #condemnation #criticism #error #forbearance #gentleness #imperfection #judgment #perfection #rebuke #selfrighteousness

2026-01-17

A quotation from Samuel Johnson

Even the acquisition of knowledge is often much facilitated by the advantages of society: he that never compares his notions with those of others, readily acquiesces in his first thoughts, and very seldom discovers the objections which may be raised against his opinions; he, therefore, often thinks himself in possession of truth, when he is only fondling an errour long since exploded. He that has neither companions nor rivals in his studies, will always applaud his own progress, and think highly of his performances, because he knows not that others have equalled or excelled him. And I am afraid it may be added, that the student who withdraws himself from the world, will soon feel that ardour extinguished which praise or emulation had enkindled, and take the advantage of secrecy to sleep, rather than to labour.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1754-01-19), The Adventurer, No. 126

More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/81496…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #study #studygroup #argument #collaboration #company #debate #education #error #interaction #isolation #learning #motivation #realitycheck #selfcongratulations #selfcontrol #selfcorrection #selfcriticism #selfdeception #selfdelusion #selfeducation #selfmotivation #selfpolicing #selfpraising #selfrationalization #selfrighteousness #selfsufficiency #society #solitude #truth

2025-12-27

A quotation from La Rochefoucauld

It is generally pride rather than lack of intelligence which prompts men to dispute so obstinately generally accepted opinions; they find all the front seats taken on the popular side, and do not wish to sit behind.
 
[C’est plus souvent par orgueil que par défaut de lumières qu’on s’oppose avec tant d’opiniâtreté aux opinions les plus suivies: on trouve les premières places prises dans le bon parti, et on ne veut point des dernières.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶234 (1665-1678) [tr. Stevens (1939)]

More info about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/la-rochefoucauld-fra…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #larochefoucauld #attention #selfaggrandizement #attentionseeking #bigfish #contrariness #ego #heterodoxy #obstinacy #pride #selfglorification #selfpromotion #selfrighteousness #popularopinion

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2025-12-11

A quotation from Moliere

DANDIN: It infuriates me to be wrong when I know I’m right.
 
[J’enrage de bon cœur d’avoir tort, lorsque j’ai raison.]

Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
George Dandin, or the Confounded Husband [oui le Mari confondu], Act 1, sc. 7 (1668)

More info about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/moliere/2876/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #moliere #georgedandin #ego #error #frustration #incorrect #righteousness #selfrighteousness #wrong

It infuriates me to be wrong when I know I’m right. - Moliere
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2025-11-13

A quotation from Moliere

   SGANARELLE: Have you no fears about returning here? It was here, Sir, that you killed that Commander, six months ago.
   DON JUAN: Why should I be afraid? Didn’t I kill him properly?
 
   [SGANARELLE: Et n’y craignez-vous rien, monsieur, de la mort de ce commandeur que vous tuâtes il y a six mois?
   DON JUAN: Et pourquoi craindre? ne l’ai-je pas bien tué?]

Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
Don Juan [Dom Juan], Act 1, sc. 2 (1665) [tr. Wilbur (2001)]

More info about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/moliere/80359/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #moliere #donjuan #dueling #fear #killing #propriety #remorse #selfrighteousness #shamelessness

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2025-11-07

A quotation from Orwell

Official war propaganda, with its disgusting hypocrisy and self-righteousness, always tends to make thinking people sympathize with the enemy.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1942-08), “Looking Back on the Spanish War, ch. 2, New Road (1943-06)

More about this quote: wist.info/orwell-george/80185/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #spanishcivilwar #badfaith #counterproductivity #government #hypocrisy #propaganda #selfrighteousness #war #wartime

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2025-11-02
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2025-10-14

A quotation from John Adams

Thanks be to God, that he gave me Stubborness, when I know I am right.

John Adams (1735-1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797-1801)
Letter (1782-09-27) to Edmund Jenings

More info about this quote: wist.info/adams-john/35533/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #johnadams #blessing #certainty #conviction #courage #obstinacy #righteousness #selfrighteousness #stubbornness

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2025-10-13

A quotation from Judith Martin

It is, indeed, a trial to maintain the virtue of humility when one can’t help being right.

Judith Martin (b. 1938) American author, journalist, etiquette expert [a.k.a. Miss Manners]
“Miss Manners,” syndicated column (1999-02-02)

More info about this quote: wist.info/martin-judith/79642/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #judithmartin #missmanners #correctness #ego #falsemodesty #humility #modesty #pride #rectitude #selfrighteousness

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2025-09-16

A quotation from The Bible

   In the meantime the older son was out in the field. On his way back, when he came close to the house, he heard the music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him, “What’s going on?”
   “Your brother has come back home,” the servant answered, ‘and your father has killed the prize calf, because he got him back safe and sound.”
   The older brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father came out and begged him to come in. But he spoke back to his father, “Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your orders. What have you given me? Not even a goat for me to have a feast with my friends! But this son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes, and when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!”
   “My son,” the father answered, “you are always here with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.”
   
   [Ἦν δὲ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐν ἀγρῷ· καὶ ὡς ἐρχόμενος ἤγγισεν τῇ οἰκίᾳ, ἤκουσεν συμφωνίας καὶ χορῶν, καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος ἕνα τῶν παίδων ἐπυνθάνετο τί ἂν εἴη ταῦτα.
   ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὅτι Ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἥκει, καὶ ἔθυσεν ὁ πατήρ σου τὸν μόσχον τὸν σιτευτόν, ὅτι ὑγιαίνοντα αὐτὸν ἀπέλαβεν.
   ὠργίσθη δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἤθελεν εἰσελθεῖν, ὁ δὲ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἐξελθὼν παρεκάλει αὐτόν. ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ, Ἰδοὺ τοσαῦτα ἔτη δουλεύω σοι καὶ οὐδέποτε ἐντολήν σου παρῆλθον, καὶ ἐμοὶ οὐδέποτε ἔδωκας ἔριφον ἵνα μετὰ τῶν φίλων μου εὐφρανθῶ· ὅτε δὲ ὁ υἱός σου οὗτος ὁ καταφαγών σου τὸν βίον μετὰ πορνῶν ἦλθεν, ἔθυσας αὐτῷ τὸν σιτευτὸν μόσχον.
   ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Τέκνον, σὺ πάντοτε μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ εἶ, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐμὰ σά ἐστιν· εὐφρανθῆναι δὲ καὶ χαρῆναι ἔδει, ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφός σου οὗτος νεκρὸς ἦν καὶ ἔζησεν, καὶ ἀπολωλὼς καὶ εὑρέθη.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Luke 15: 25-32, “Parable of the Prodigal Son” (Jesus) [GNT (1992 ed.)]

More info about this quote: wist.info/bible-nt/78982/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #Bible #Jesus #bookofluke #prodigalson #celebration #forgiveness #grace #penitence #repentance #resentment #returning #selfrighteousness

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2025-09-05

A quotation from Samuel Johnson

Every man naturally persuades himself that he can keep his resolutions, nor is he convinced of his imbecility but by length of time and frequency of experiment. This opinion of our own constancy is so prevalent, that we always despise him who suffers his general and settled purpose to be overpowered by an occasional desire.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Prayers and Meditations, 1770-06-01 (1785)

More info about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/19730…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #character #desire #expectations #failure #lapse #perspective #resolution #selfawareness #selfdelusion #selfimprovement #selfrighteousness #temptation #resolve

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2025-09-01

A quotation from Wendell Berry

What could be more absurd, to begin with, than our attitude of high moral outrage against other nations for manufacturing the selfsame weapons that we manufacture? The difference, as our leaders say, is that we will use these weapons virtuously, whereas our enemies will use them maliciously — a proposition that too readily conforms to a proposition of much less dignity: we will use them in our interest, whereas our enemies will use them in theirs.

Wendell Berry (b. 1934) American farmer, educator, poet, conservationist
Essay (1999), “The Failure of War,” Citizenship Papers (2003)

More info about this quote: wist.info/berry-wendell/17802/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #wendellberry #arms #enemies #foreignaffairs #foreignpolicy #foreignrelations #hypocrisy #internationalaffairs #internationalrelations #selfinterest #selfrighteousness #war #weapons

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2025-08-22

A quotation from George Orwell

There are people who are convinced of the wickedness both of armies and of police forces, but who are nevertheless much more intolerant and inquisitorial in outlook than the normal person who believes that it is necessary to use violence in certain circumstances. They will not say to somebody else, “Do this, that and the other or you will go to prison”, but they will, if they can, get inside his brain and dictate his thoughts for him in the minutest particulars.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1947-03), “Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool,” Polemic Magazine, No. 7

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/orwell-george/78563/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #selfrighteousness #armedforces #coercion #conformity #establishment #inquisition #intolerance #lawenforcement #mindcontrol #orthodoxy #police #thoughtcontrol #onetrueway

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2025-08-08

A quotation from Robert Louis Stevenson

Undying hope is co-ruler of the human bosom with infallible credulity. A man finds he has been wrong at every preceding stage of his career, only to deduce the astonishing conclusion that he is at last entirely right.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1878-03), “Crabbed Age and Youth,” Cornhill Magazine, Vol. 37

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/stevenson-robert-lou…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #robertlouisstevenson #age #credulity #error #hope #infallibility #maturity #oldage #rectitude #selfdeception #selfrighteousness #wisdom

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2025-08-04

A quotation from Montesquieu

Solemnity is the fool’s shield and buckler.
 
[La gravité est la bouclier des sots.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Pensées Diverses [Assorted Thoughts], # 1637 / 1051 (1720-1755) [ed. Guterman (1963)]

Sourcing, notes, other translations: wist.info/montesquieu/78201/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #montesquieu #dolt #fool #gravity #idiot #momentousness #protection #selfrighteousness #seriousness #shield #solemnity #pomposity #pomp

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2025-07-31

A quotation from Eric Hoffer

We derive a certain satisfaction from being sinned against. It is not only that a grievance adds content to our lives, but also that it makes less monstrous the flame of malice which like a vigil light flickers in the dimness of our souls.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 120 (1955)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/hoffer-eric/78121/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #indignation #complaint #grievance #justification #perspective #selfrighteousness #victim #victimization

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2025-07-22

A quotation from The Bible

   Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else. “Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.
   “The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, ‘I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income.’
   “But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, ‘God, have pity on me, a sinner!’
   “I tell you,” said Jesus, “the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great.”
 
   [Εἶπεν δὲ καὶ πρός τινας τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτοῖς ὅτι εἰσὶν δίκαιοι καὶ ἐξουθενοῦντας τοὺς λοιποὺς τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην· Ἄνθρωποι δύο ἀνέβησαν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν προσεύξασθαι, ὁ εἷς Φαρισαῖος καὶ ὁ ἕτερος τελώνης.
   ὁ Φαρισαῖος σταθεὶς πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ταῦτα προσηύχετο, Ὁ θεός, εὐχαριστῶ σοι ὅτι οὐκ εἰμὶ ὥσπερ οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἅρπαγες, ἄδικοι, μοιχοί, ἢ καὶ ὡς οὗτος ὁ τελώνης· νηστεύω δὶς τοῦ σαββάτου, ἀποδεκατῶ πάντα ὅσα κτῶμαι.
   ὁ δὲ τελώνης μακρόθεν ἑστὼς οὐκ ἤθελεν οὐδὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐπᾶραι εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτυπτεν τὸ στῆθος αὐτοῦ λέγων, Ὁ θεός, ἱλάσθητί μοι τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ.
   λέγω ὑμῖν, κατέβη οὗτος δεδικαιωμένος εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ παρ᾽ ἐκεῖνον· ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὑψῶν ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται, ὁ δὲ ταπεινῶν ἑαυτὸν ὑψωθήσεται.]

The Bible (The New Testament) (AD 1st - 2nd C) Christian sacred scripture
Luke 18: 9-14, “The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector” [GNT (1992 ed.)]

Sourcing, notes, other translations: wist.info/bible-nt/35493/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #bible #newtestament #jesus #parable #faithandworks #arrogance #ego #hubris #humility #legalism #pride #repentance #selfimportance #selfrighteousness #sin #sinner #works

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2025-07-16

A quotation from Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

Whatever you think you have to do is simply what you want to do.
 
[Was Du zu müssen glaubst, ist das, was Du willst.]

Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916) Austrian writer
Aphorisms [Aphorismen], No. 60 (1880) [tr. Scrase/Mieder (1994)]

Sourcing, notes, other translation: wist.info/von-ebner-eschenbach…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #aphorism #compulsion #desire #duty #justification #moralduty #must #obligation #preference #requirement #selfrighteousness #volition #will #wishing #excuse

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2025-07-10

A quotation from Eric Hoffer

The sick in soul insist that it is humanity that is sick, and they are the surgeons to operate on it. They want to turn the world into a sickroom. And once they get humanity strapped to the operating table, they operate on it with an ax.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 104 (1955)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/hoffer-eric/16636/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #erichoffer #authoritarian #butchery #ego #evil #humanity #inhumanity #megalomania #ruthlessness #selfrighteousness #superiority #control #sick

2025-07-08

@coreyf Lakoff's "Moral Politics" is useful for how it exposes vastly different points of departure/unexamined assumptions that lead to left and right talking past each other. The title is nauseating but the book is insightful, Lakoff is no conservative. The preface by itself is helpful. #KnowYourEnemy #SelfRighteousness

archive.org/details/moralpolit

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