An aphorism is nothing else but the slightest
form of writing raised to the highest level of expressive communication. Carl William Brown



60,000 QUOTES SPIDER
 


QUOTES AND APHORISMS ON MOTIVES

 

 

Let it be your constant method to look into the design of people's actions, and see what they would be at, as often as it is practicable; and to make this custom the more significant, practice it first upon yourself.

 

Marcus Aurelius (121-12180, Roman emperor, philosopher)

 

Never ascribe to an opponent motives meaner than your own.

 

James M. Barrie (1860-1937, British playwright)

 

We are all selfish and I no more trust myself than others with a good motive.

 

Lord Byron (1788-1824, British poet)

 

Every woman is supposed to have the same set of motives, or else to be a monster.

 

George Eliot (1819-1880, British novelist)

 

A person who is keen to shake your hand usually has something up his sleeve.

 

Sir Alec Guiness (1914-2000, British actor)

 

To read between the lines was easier than to follow the text.

 

Henry James (1843-1916, American author)

 

Behind many acts that are thought ridiculous there lie wise and weighty motives.

 

Francois De La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680, French classical writer)

 

We should often be ashamed of our finest actions if the world understood all the motives behind them.

 

Francois De La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680, French classical writer)

 

There's an enduring American compulsion to be on the side of the angels. Expediency alone has never been an adequate American reason for doing anything. When actions are judged, they go before the bar of God, where Mom and the Flag closely flank His presence.

 

Jonathan Raban (1942-, British author, critic)

 

He never does a proper thing without giving an improper reason for it.

 

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950, Irish-born British dramatist)

 

From his cradle to his grave a man never does a single thing which has any FIRST AND FOREMOST object but one -- to secure peace of mind, spiritual comfort, for HIMSELF.

 

Mark Twain (1835-1910, American humorist, writer)

 

Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.

 

Oscar Wilde (1856-1900, British author, wit)

 

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