“Good and evil, reward and punishment, are the only motives to a rational creature: these are the spur and reins whereby all mankind are set on work, and guided.”

— John Locke , book Some Thoughts Concerning Education

Sec. 54
Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update March 31, 2022. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Good and evil, reward and punishment, are the only motives to a rational creature: these are the spur and reins whereby…" by John Locke?

John Locke 144

English philosopher and physician 1632–1704

Related quotes

“Thou seest, then, in what foulness unrighteous deeds are sunk, with what splendour righteousness shines. Whereby it is manifest that goodness never lacks its reward, nor crime its punishment.”
Videsne igitur quanto in caeno probra volvantur, qua probitas luce resplendeat? In quo perspicuum est numquam bonis praemia, numquam sua sceleribus deesse supplicia.

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480) philosopher of the early 6th century

Prose III, line 1; translation by H. R. James
The Consolation of Philosophy · De Consolatione Philosophiae, Book IV

“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”

Mark Twain (1835–1910) American author and humorist

“If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

“What does There is no God mean? It means there is no bridle on our instincts, no reward for good or punishment for evil, no virtue, shame, or justice — that we are wolves and she-wolves in heat.”

Nikos Kazantzakis book Report to Greco

"Jerusalem", Ch. 20, p. 249-50
Report to Greco (1965)
Context: Sodom and Gomorrah reclined along the riverbank like two whores kissing each other. Men copulated with other men, women with other women, men with mares, women with bulls. They ate and overate from the Tree of Life; they ate and overate from the Tree of Knowledge. Smashing their sacred statues, they saw that they were filled with air. Coming very, very close to God, they said, "This God is not the father of Fear, he is the son of Fear," and they lost their fear. On the four gates to the city they wrote in large yellow letters, THERE IS NO GOD HERE. What does There is no God mean? It means there is no bridle on our instincts, no reward for good or punishment for evil, no virtue, shame, or justice — that we are wolves and she-wolves in heat.

“Punishment? Reward! Punishment? Reward!”

Nick Cave (1957) Australian musician

Song lyrics, Mutiny (1993), Mutiny in Heaven

“Punishment and reward proceed from basically the same psychological model, one that conceives of motivation as nothing more than the manipulation of behavior.”

Alfie Kohn (1957) American author and lecturer

Punished by Rewards

“I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil. My God created laws that take care of that. His universe is not ruled by wishful thinking, but by immutable laws.”

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity

Source: Attributed in posthumous publications, Einstein and the Poet (1983), p. 132
Variant transcription from "Death of a Genius" in Life Magazine: "I cannot accept any concept of God based on the fear of life or the fear of death, or blind faith. I cannot prove to you that there is no personal God, but if I were to speak of him I would be a liar."
Context: About God, I cannot accept any concept based on the authority of the Church. As long as I can remember, I have resented mass indoctrination. I do not believe in the fear of life, in the fear of death, in blind faith. I cannot prove to you that there is no personal God, but if I were to speak of him, I would be a liar. I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil. My God created laws that take care of that. His universe is not ruled by wishful thinking, but by immutable laws.