
„Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find.“
— William Shakespeare, book The Passionate Pilgrim
Source: The Passionate Pilgrim
A collection of quotes on the topic of love, partnership, loyalty, people.
„Words are easy, like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find.“
— William Shakespeare, book The Passionate Pilgrim
Source: The Passionate Pilgrim
„My loyalty to my party ends where my loyalty to my country begins.“
— Manuel L. Quezon president of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944 1878 - 1944
As quoted in John Gunther's Inside Asia. (1939)
— Heinrich Himmler Nazi officer, Commander of the SS 1900 - 1945
Himmler formulated this as the watchword of the Schultzstaffel, an organization that eventually became an enormous organization ranging from the staff of the concentration camps to the Gestapo and SD, to the Waffen-SS, Hitler's personal soldiers. Above all else, Himmler and the rest of the Nazi leadership stressed the importance of loyalty to the Reich and the Fuehrer. As translated in The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951), by Hannah Arendt Ch. 10
Undated
„Respect, Honesty, Courage, Rectitude, Loyalty, Honour, Benevolence“
— Tsunetomo Yamamoto, book Hagakure
Source: Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai
„A person who deserves my loyalty receives it.“
— Joyce Maynard American writer 1953
Source: Looking Back: A Chronicle of Growing Up Old in the Sixties
„Sovereignty, loyalty, and solitude.“
— Georges Bataille French intellectual and literary figure 1897 - 1962
Source: The Unfinished System of Nonknowledge
„Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.“
— Anthony Robbins Author, actor, professional speaker 1960
„The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.“
— Gautama Buddha philosopher, reformer and the founder of Buddhism -563 - -483 BC
Total 441 quotes loyalty, filter:
„A faithful friend is a strong defense;
And he that hath found him hath found a treasure.“
— Louisa May Alcott American novelist 1832 - 1888
— Meryl Streep American actress 1949
Misattributed to Meryl Streep (and widely disseminated on the Internet as of August/September 2014), this quote is allegedly a translation of a text by the author José Micard Teixeira, the original of which begins (in Portuguese): "Já não tenho paciência para algumas coisas, não porque me tenha tornado arrogante..."
Misattributed
— Xenophon ancient Greek historian and philosopher -430 - -354 BC
Hellenica Bk. 4, as translated by Carleton L. Brownson (1918)
— Takeda Shingen Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period 1521 - 1573
William Scott Wilson, Gregory Lee. Ideals of the Samurai: Writings of Japanese Warriors, 1982. p 95
„Don't worry about being effective. Just concentrate on being faithful to the truth.“
— Dorothy Day Social activist 1897 - 1980
„The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other.“
— Mario Puzo American Novelist 1920 - 1999
— Joseph Goebbels Nazi politician and Propaganda Minister 1897 - 1945
So sind die Parteien der Demokratie: Geschäftsgruppen! Weiter nichts. Weltanschauung? Was ist das für ein reaktionärer Begriff? Ehre, Treue, Glauben, Überzeugung? Mann, sie sind von Gestern!
Michael: a German fate in diary notes (1926)
— Leslie Weatherhead English theologian 1893 - 1976
Source: The Christian Agnostic (1965), p.227 [ellipsis added]
„Loyalty is not a small thing. I'm an old Irish pol. No loyalty is owed, if no loyalty was given.“
— Mike Murphy (political consultant) American political consultant 1962
As quoted in "Debriefing Mike Murphy" https://www.weeklystandard.com/matt-labash/debriefing-mike-murphy (18 March 2016), by Matt Labash, The Weekly Standard
2010s
— Henry Steele Commager American historian 1902 - 1998
Source: Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent (1954), p. 154
— Lal Bahadur Shastri The second Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a leader of the Indian National Congress party 1904 - 1966
About Patriotism
— Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indian freedom fighter who forged united India 1875 - 1950
Patel complaining about the Indian Muslims' silence over Kashmir in a speech in Lucknow in 1948, quoted in B.D. Graham: Hindu Nationalism and quoted from Elst, Koenraad (2014). Decolonizing the Hindu mind: Ideological development of Hindu revivalism. New Delhi: Rupa. p.349
— George S. Patton United States Army general 1885 - 1945
War As I Knew It (1947); also quoted in Patton's One-Minute Messages: Tactical Leadership Skills for Business Management (1995) by Charles M. Province, p. 88
Context: There is a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates.
— David Lane (white nationalist) American white supremacist, convicted felon 1938 - 2007
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Reality Denial
— Simon Sinek British/American author and motivational speaker 1973
Source: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
— Cornel West African-American philosopher and political/civil rights activist 1953
Source: Breaking Bread: Insurgent Black Intellectual Life
— Oscar Wilde Irish writer and poet 1854 - 1900
Variant: There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up.
— George Orwell English author and journalist 1903 - 1950
Reflections on Gandhi (1949)
Source: In Front of Your Nose: 1945-1950
— Mark Twain American author and humorist 1835 - 1910
"Consistency" (5 December 1887). This quote is engraved on Twain's bust in the National Hall of Fame
„But what are loyalty and caring really worth?"
"To me? Everything.“
— Richelle Mead, book The Golden Lily
Source: The Golden Lily
„His loyalty, so fierce and unwavering, makes my eyes water and heart ache.“
— Emily Giffin American writer 1972
— Judith McNaught, book A Kingdom of Dreams
Source: A Kingdom of Dreams
— David Gemmell British author of heroic fantasy 1948 - 2006
Source: Shield of Thunder
„Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it.“
— Mark Twain American author and humorist 1835 - 1910
Part VI: "Two Fragments from a Suppressed Book Called 'Glances at History' or 'Outlines of History' ".
Papers of the Adams Family (1939)
Variant: Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.
Context: In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country; in a republic it is the common voice of the people. Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catch-phrases of politicians. Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide it against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may. If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country — hold up your head! You have nothing to be ashamed of.
Only when a republic's life is in danger should a man uphold his government when it is in the wrong. There is no other time.
This Republic's life is not in peril. The nation has sold its honor for a phrase. It has swung itself loose from its safe anchorage and is drifting, its helm is in pirate hands.
„Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved.“
— Martin Luther seminal figure in Protestant Reformation 1483 - 1546
— Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo
Source: Magic Rises
— Karen Armstrong author and comparative religion scholar from Great Britain 1944
Source: Muhammad: A Biography of The Prophet (2001)
— Brian Jacques British fiction writer known for Redwall animal fantasy novels 1939 - 2011
Source: Pearls of Lutra
„Wasn't it? Is loyalty still a commendable quality when it is misdirected?“
— Cassandra Clare, book Clockwork Princess
Source: Clockwork Princess
„Young men want to be faithful, and are not. Old men want to be faithless, and cannot.“
— Oscar Wilde Irish writer and poet 1854 - 1900
— Dan Simmons, book The Fall of Hyperion
Variant: Sol remembered the dream, remembered his daughter’s hug, and realized that in the end—when all else is dust—loyalty to those we love is all we can carry with us to the grave.
Source: The Fall of Hyperion (1990), Chapter 30 (p. 242)
„The scholar does not consider gold and jade to be precious treasures, but loyalty and good faith.“
— Confucius Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher -551 - -479 BC
Source: The Ethics of Confucius
— Eloise Jarvis McGraw, book Mara, Daughter of the Nile
Source: Mara, Daughter of the Nile
„Equal laws protecting equal rights…the best guarantee of loyalty and love of country.“
— James Madison 4th president of the United States (1809 to 1817) 1751 - 1836
Letter to Jacob De La Motta (August 1820), Manuscript Division, Papers of James Madison http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/loc/madison.html
1820s
Context: Equal laws protecting equal rights, are found as they ought to be presumed, the best guarantee of loyalty, and love of country; as well as best calculated to cherish that mutual respect and good will among citizens of every religious denomination which are necessary to social harmony and most favorable to the advancement of truth.
Context: Among the features peculiar to the political system of the United States is the perfect equality of rights which it secures to every religious sect. And it is particularly pleasing to observe in the good citizenship of such as have been most distrusted and oppressed elsewhere, a happy illustration of the safety and success of this experiment of a just and benignant policy. Equal laws protecting equal rights, are found as they ought to be presumed, the best guarantee of loyalty, and love of country; as well as best calculated to cherish that mutual respect and good will among citizens of every religious denomination which are necessary to social harmony and most favorable to the advancement of truth.
— Martin Luther King, Jr. American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement 1929 - 1968
1960s, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence (1967)
Context: A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies. This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one's tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind. This oft misunderstood, this oft misinterpreted concept, so readily dismissed by the Nietzsches of the world as a weak and cowardly force, has now become an absolute necessity for the survival of man. When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I am not speaking of that force which is just emotional bosh. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality.
„The undead did not love, but they remembered love with a savage loyalty.“
— Kim Harrison Pseudonym 1966
Source: A Perfect Blood
„If put to the pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.
(, 1928)“
— Elbert Hubbard American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher fue el escritor del jarron azul 1856 - 1915
Source: Works of Elbert Hubbard
„I convinced her that her first loyalty isn't to other people, but to her own feelings.“
— Mario Vargas Llosa, book The Bad Girl
Source: Travesuras de la niña mala
„I always think loyalty's such a tiresome virtue.“
— Agatha Christie, book Peril at End House
Source: Peril at End House
— James Clavell, book Shōgun
Source: Shōgun
— Isaac Asimov, book Foundation
Part I, The Psychohistorians, section 6
Source: The Foundation series (1951–1993), Foundation (1951)
„Loyalty was a funny thing. So was love. They both bit you when you least expected it.“
— Jodi Lynn Anderson American children's writer
Source: Peaches
„I liked the idea of representing nobody but myself. No affiliation, no ties, no loyalties.“
— Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson American writer and activist 1941
Final Analysis (1990)
„He took his way to the abode of sacred Loyalty, seeking to discover her hidden purpose. It chanced that the goddess, who loves solitude, was then in a distant region of heaven, pondering in her heart the high concerns of the gods. Then he who gave peace to Nemea accosted her thus with reverence: "Goddess more ancient than Jupiter, glory of gods and men, without whom neither sea nor land finds peace, sister of Justice…"“
Ad limina sanctae
contendit Fidei secretaque pectora temptat.
arcanis dea laeta polo tum forte remoto
caelicolum magnas uoluebat conscia curas.
quam tali adloquitur Nemeae pacator honore:
'Ante Iouem generata, decus diuumque hominumque,
qua sine non tellus pacem, non aequora norunt,
iustitiae consors...'
Book II, lines 479–486
Punica
„What can stand against loyalty? It is the faith that moves mountains.“
— John Buchan British politician 1875 - 1940
Source: Midwinter (1923), Ch. X
— H. Richard Niebuhr American theologian 1894 - 1962
Source: Christ and Culture (1951), pp. 70-71
— James A. Garfield American politician, 20th President of the United States (in office in 1881) 1831 - 1881
1860s, Speech in the House of Representatives (1866)
— Eleanor Roosevelt American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States 1884 - 1962
This Is My Story (1937)
— Hugo Chávez 48th President of Venezuela 1954 - 2013
Hugo Chávez to Venezuelan television reporters just before being arrested for his participation in an attempted coup d'état, February 1992.
1992
— Enoch Powell British politician 1912 - 1998
Speech http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1976/jan/19/devolution-scotland-and-wales in the House of Commons (19 January 1976) against devolution to Scotland.
1970s
„How well I know that loyalty brings disaster.“
— Qu Yuan ancient Chinese poet -343 - -278 BC
Original: (zh) 余固知謇謇之为患兮。
Source: "Encountering Sorrow" (trans. David Hawkes), Line 21
— Ron Paul American politician and physician 1935
Statement on the Iraq War Resolution http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2007/cr021407.htm (February 14, 2007).
2000s, 2006-2009
— Vanna Bonta, book Flight: A Quantum Fiction Novel
Source: Flight: A Quantum Fiction Novel (1995), Ch. 3
— Alice A. Bailey esoteric, theosophist, writer 1880 - 1949
Source: The Unfinished Autobiography (1951), Chapter V - Part 1
— Thomas Hughes English lawyer, author and cricketer 1822 - 1896
Part II
The Manliness of Christ (1879)
— Bernard Lewis British-American historian 1916 - 2018
Books, Islam and the West: A Conversation with Bernard Lewis (2006)
— Charles Sumner American abolitionist and politician 1811 - 1874
Speech https://books.google.com/books?id=HGM9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA5172&lpg=PA5172&dq=%22Worse+than+any+heathen+or+pagan+abroad+are+those+in+our+midst+who+are+false+to+our+institutions.%22&source=bl&ots=n-wpUEfhND&sig=wHyJSOd8M1rswurZUUnUgAFrTn0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjXtt2swKjLAhWFGD4KHWCjBDsQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=%22Worse%20than%20any%20heathen%20or%20pagan%20abroad%20are%20those%20in%20our%20midst%20who%20are%20false%20to%20our%20institutions.%22&f=false (4 July 1870)
— Geert Hofstede Dutch psychologist 1928
Source: Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values (1980), p. 51.