“He blamed as severely what he thought a bad action, when the motive was a feeling of duty, as if the agents had been consciously evil doers. He would not have accepted as a plea in mitigation for inquisitors, that they sincerely believed burning heretics to be an obligation of conscience. But though he did not allow honesty of purpose to soften his disapprobation of actions, it had its full effect on his estimation of characters. No one prized conscientiousness and rectitude of intention more highly, or was more incapable of valuing any person in whom he did not feel assurance of it.”

— John Stuart Mill , book Autobiography

Source: https://archive.org/details/autobiography01mill/page/49/mode/1up pp. 49-50

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John Stuart Mill 179

British philosopher and political economist 1806–1873

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John Stuart Mill 179

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