“The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of cause.”
Source: The Legacy of Heorot (1987), Chapter 22 “The Last Grendel” (p. 231; quoting William James)
“We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.”
Letter to E.L. Godkin (24 December 1895)
1890s
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William James 246
American philosopher, psychologist, and pragmatist 1842–1910Related quotes
“Between good sense and good taste there lies the difference between a cause and its effect.”
Entre le bon sens et le bon goût il y a la différence de la cause à son effet.
Aphorism 56
Les Caractères (1688), Des jugements
Freeman Dyson
(1923) theoretical physicist and mathematician
Disturbing the Universe (1979)
Context: A good cause can become bad if we fight for it with means that are indiscriminately murderous. A bad cause can become good if enough people fight for it in a spirit of comradeship and self-sacrifice. In the end it is how you fight, as much as why you fight, that makes your cause good or bad. <!-- Pt. 1, Ch. 4
“Tis known by the name of perseverance in a good cause — and of obstinacy in a bad one.”
Book I, Ch. 17.
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1760-1767)
David Gemmell
(1948–2006) British author of heroic fantasy
