Decent Quotes - Page 17

• A cultivated and decent man cannot be vain without setting a fearfully high standard for himself, and without despising and almost hating himself at certain moments.

  Fyodor Dostoevsky

  Hate, Men, High Standards

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• Every decent man of our age must be a coward and a slave. That is his normal condition. Of that I am firmly persuaded. He is made and constructed to that very end. And not only at the present time owing to some casual circumstance, but always, at all times, a decent man is bound to be a coward and a slave.

  Fyodor Dostoevsky

  Men, Age, Coward

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• One expects decent people to stand up for the good of all. Decent people shut their doors and hide behind them as decent people do. Massacres could never happen if it weren't for decent people.

  Jennifer Donnelly

  Doors, People, Massacres

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• A whole big, giant world full of men. Men with blue eyes. Brown eyes. Green eyes. And indescribable shades in between. Tall men. Short men. Skinny men. Built men. And all combinations thereof. Nice men (so I've heard, but never really seen). Mean men. Decent men, indecent. And who knows which is the best kind to have, to hold, to love? I'd say, with so many men in the world, it would pay to sample a few. Scratch that. More than a few. Lots and lots. And then a few more. And maybe, after years of research, you might find one worth not throwing back. But hey, the fun is in the fishing.

  Ellen Hopkins

  Fun, Nice, Eye

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• Of course you should study whatever you want. The written appreciation and understanding of literature, or any kind of artistic endeavour, is absolutely central to a decent society. Why d'you think books are the first things that the fascists burn?

  David Nicholls

  Appreciation, Book, Thinking

  David Nicholls (2004). “A Question of Attraction: A Novel”, p.102, Villard

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• Certain types of loudmouthism should be a capital offense among decent people.

  Robert A. Heinlein

  People, Should, Type

  Robert A Heinlein (1966). “Moon Is Harsh Mistres”, Berkley

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• For a moment I can't help thinking how decent he is - that there's some hope for him beyond the obnoxious image he displays. Maybe deep down he is a sensitive guy, who sees us as real people with real issues. I want to say something nice. Some kind of thanks. I stand there, rehearsing it in my mind. "Oh my God," he says, "did you see that girl's tits?" Maybe not today.

  Melina Marchetta

  Girl, Real, Nice

  Melina Marchetta (2007). “Saving Francesca”, p.96, Knopf Books for Young Readers

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• Said to Mairin; "There's little decency to good loving" Maddie said. "If 'tis decent, it isn't much fun"!

  Maya Banks

  Fun, Littles, Said

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• No wonder I won the Games. NO decent person ever does.

  Suzanne Collins

  Catching On, Games, Catching Fire

  Suzanne Collins (2010). “Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)”, p.117, Scholastic Inc.

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• We don't always choose the best solution but we carry on regardless, trying to remain upright and decent in order to do honor not to the walls or the doors or the windows but to the empty space inside, the space where we worship and venerate what is dearest and most important to us.

  Paulo Coelho

  Wall, Doors, Order

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• Being a decent human being will require effort and energy.

  David Nicholls

  Effort, Energy, Humans

  David Nicholls (2009). “One Day”, p.119, Hachette UK

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• You can fool some of the people some of the time -- and that's enough to make a decent living.

  W. C. Fields

  People, Religion, Atheism

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• The one thing ... that is truly ugly is the climate of hate and intimidation, created by a noisy few, which makes the decent majority reluctant to air in public their views on anything controversial. ... Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.

  Edward Abbey

  Hate, Thinking, Air

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• She made you decent, and in return you made her so happy

  David Nicholls

  Return, Made

  "Fictional character: Ian". "One Day", www.imdb.com. 2011.

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• That's why people don't ever think to blame the Socs and are always ready to jump on us. We look hoody and they look decent. It could be just the other way around - half of the hoods I know are pretty decent guys underneath all that grease, and from what I've heard, a lot of Socs are just cold-blooded mean - but people usually go by looks.

  S. E. Hinton

  Mean, Thinking, People

  S.E. Hinton (2016). “The Outsiders 50th Anniversary Edition”, p.113, Penguin

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• Decent people are so easy to manipulate, Potter.

  J. K. Rowling

  People, Potters, Easy

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• We rode along in silence, thinking our private thoughts. Charlie and I had an unspoken agreement not to throw ourselves into speedy travel just after a meal. There were many hardships to our type of life and we took these small comforts as they came; I found they added up to something decent enough to carry on

  Patrick deWitt

  Thinking, Agreement, Silence

  Patrick deWitt (2011). “The Sisters Brothers”, p.12, Granta Books

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• There is simply no limit to the tyrannical snobbery that otherwise decent people can descend into when it comes to music.

  Stephen Fry

  People, Limits, Snobbery

  Stephen Fry (2011). “Moab Is My Washpot”, p.82, Soho Press

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• If we are to be happy, decent and secure of our souls: drink some kind of fermented liquor with one's food; go on the water from time to time; dance on occasions, and sing in a chorus.

  Hilaire Belloc

  Water, Soul, Goes On

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• In public affairs men are often better pleased that the truth, though known to everybody, should be wrapped up under a decent cover than if it were exposed in open daylight to the eyes of all the world.

  David Hume

  Eye, Men, World

  David Hume (2016). “Delphi Complete Works of David Hume (Illustrated)”, p.1807, Delphi Classics

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• Something snapped inside her. “Of course I’m afraid! Relationships do bad things to me.” He started to respond, but the pain had gone on long enough, and she didn’t want to hear it. “You know what I want? I want peace. I want a good job and a decent place to live. I want to read books and listen to music and have time to make some female friendships that are going to last. When I wake up in the morning, I want to know that I have a decent shot at being happy. And here’s what’s really sad. Until I met you, I was almost there.

  Susan Elizabeth Phillips

  Morning, Jobs, Pain

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• At least, you two have decent manners," says Effie as we're finishing the main course. "The pair last year ate everything with their hands like a couple of savages. It completely upset my digestion." ... My mother taught Prim and me to eat properly, so yes, I can handle a fork and knife. But I hate Effie Trinket's comment so much I make a point of eating the rest of my meal with my fingers. Then I wipe my hands on the tablecloth. This makes her purse her lips tightly together.

  Suzanne Collins

  Mother, Couple, Hate

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• The worst crimes are not committed by evil degenerates, but by decent and intelligent people taking 'pragmatic' decisions.

  Colin Wilson

  Intelligent, People, Evil

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• It is a law of nature that every decent man on earth is bound to be a coward and a slave

  Fyodor Dostoevsky

  Men, Law, Coward

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• The great challenge of the twenty-first century is to raise people everywhere to a decent standard of living while preserving as much of the rest of life as possible.

  E. O. Wilson

  Rest Of Life, People, Challenges

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