Quotes about principle
page 37

Richard Price photo
Richard Price photo
Frithjof Schuon photo

“It ought to be possible to restore to the word "philosophy" its original meaning: philosophy − the "love of wisdom" − is the science of all the fundamental principles; this science operates with intuition, which "perceives," and not with reason alone, which "concludes."”

Subjectively speaking, the essence of philosophy is certitude; for the moderns, on the contrary, the essence of philosophy is doubt: the philosopher is supposed to reason without any premise (voraussetzungsloses Denken), as if this condition were not itself a preconceived idea; this is the classical contradiction of all relativism. Everything is doubted except for doubt. The solution to the problem of knowledge − if there is a problem − could not possibly be this intellectual suicide that is the promotion of doubt; on the contrary, it lies in having recourse to a source of certitude that transcends the mental mechanism, and this source − the only one there is − is the pure Intellect, or Intelligence as such.
[2005, The Transfiguration of Man, World Wisdom, 3, 978-0-94153219-8]
Miscellaneous, Philosophy

Mary Baker Eddy photo
Isaac Asimov photo
Thomas Jefferson photo

“The art and mystery of banks… is established on the principle that 'private debts are a public blessing.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

That the evidences of those private debts, called bank notes, become active capital, and aliment the whole commerce, manufactures, and agriculture of the United States. Here are a set of people, for instance, who have bestowed on us the great blessing of running in our debt about two hundred millions of dollars, without our knowing who they are, where they are, or what property they have to pay this debt when called on; nay, who have made us so sensible of the blessings of letting them run in our debt, that we have exempted them by law from the repayment of these debts beyond a give proportion (generally estimated at one-third). And to fill up the measure of blessing, instead of paying, they receive an interest on what they owe from those to whom they owe; for all the notes, or evidences of what they owe, which we see in circulation, have been lent to somebody on an interest which is levied again on us through the medium of commerce. And they are so ready still to deal out their liberalities to us, that they are now willing to let themselves run in our debt ninety millions more, on our paying them the same premium of six or eight per cent interest, and on the same legal exemption from the repayment of more than thirty millions of the debt, when it shall be called for.
ME 13:420
1810s, Letters to John Wayles Eppes (1813)

Walter Reuther photo

“We must negotiate from unity and strength and stay firm on matters of principle and flexible on matters of procedure.”

Walter Reuther (1907–1970) Labor union leader

Address before the Berlin Freedom Rally, West Berlin, Germany, May 1, 1959, as quoted in Walter P Reuther: Selected Papers (1961), by Henry M. Christman, p. 280
1950s, Address before the Berlin Freedom Rally (1959)

Mao Zedong photo

“We must have faith in the masses and we must have faith in the Party. These are two cardinal principles. If we doubt these principles, we shall accomplish nothing.”

Mao Zedong (1893–1976) Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

(zh-CN) 我们应当相信群众,我们应当相信党,这是两条根本的原理。如果怀疑这两条原理,那就什么事情也做不成了。
On the Question of Agricultural Co-Operation (July 31, 1955)
1950s

Joe Armstrong photo

“If you can't detect failures, you are unable to recover from them. That's an obvious principle you need.”

Joe Armstrong (1950–2019) British computer scientist

Faults, Scaling and Erlang concurrency

Pema Chödron photo

“The principle of nowness is very important to any effort to establish an enlightened society.”

Pema Chödron (1936) American philosopher

How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind (2008)

Maximilien Robespierre photo

“You constantly allege the declaration of human rights, the principles of liberty, and you yourselves believed in it so little that you constitutionally decreed slavery.”

Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794) French revolutionary lawyer and politician

Attacking the defense of slavery, Session of National Constituent Assembly 13 May, 1791
Misc Quotes

Marcelo H. del Pilar photo

“I have not stopped wishing for the renewal of our former ties, for I believe that slight differences in procedure are not enough to destroy our common principles, purposes, and feelings.”

Marcelo H. del Pilar (1850–1896) Filipino writer, lawyer, and journalist (1850-1896)

Marcelo H. del Pilar to José Rizal (20 July 1892)

Eliphas Levi photo

“Magic is the divinity of man conquered by science in union with faith; the true Magi are Men-Gods, in virtue of their intimate union with the divine principle.”

Eliphas Levi (1810–1875) French writer

Miscellaneous Quotes On the Subjects of Magic and Magicians
Source: [Lévi, Éliphas, Blavatsky, H. P., Paradoxes of the Highest Science, 2007, Wildside Press LLC, 9781434401069, 15, https://books.google.com/books?id=oIglEl6BJFoC&q=The%20Paradoxes%20of%20the%20Highest%20Science&pg=PA5]

Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo photo

“The church does not encourage clashes but harmony, based on a principle that must guide the world going forward, as there is no other possible way. This principle is that of solidarity.”

Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo (1954) Catholic bishop

Brazil’s top bishop: Without solidarity, Brazil could become new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2020/05/18/brazils-top-bishop-without-solidarity-brazil-could-become-new-epicenter (May 18, 2020)

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury photo

“We are in a state of bloodless civil war. No common principles, no respect for common institutions or traditions unite the various groups of politicians, who are struggling for power. To loot somebody or something is the common object under a thick varnish of pious phrases.”

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903) British politician

Letter to W. H. Smith (5 February 1889), quoted in Michael Bentley, Lord Salisbury's World: Conservative Environments in Late-Victorian Britain (2001), p. 65
1880s

“I have never met a single European who had a clean, clear-cut understanding of the principles of strictly limited government.”

Leonard E. Read (1898–1983) American academic

Source: Leonard Read Journals, July 1, 1949 https://history.fee.org/leonard-read-journal/1949/leonard-e-read-journal-july-1949/

Miroslav Krleža photo
Éric Zemmour photo

“Islam is a civilisation incompatible with the principles of France.”

Éric Zemmour (1958) French essayist

Eric Zemmour: Meet the right-wing TV pundit set to shake up France's presidential race. https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/13/eric-zemmour-meet-the-right-wing-tv-pundit-set-to-shake-up-france-s-presidential-race Antoine Diers, a spokesman for the Association of Eric Zemmour's Friends.

Yingluck Shinawatra photo

“Every religion has basic principles that is designed to uplift people's mind and teaches good morals and ethics, the tools which lead to a harmonious society where people do not encroach, but help one another.”

Yingluck Shinawatra (1967) Thai businesswoman and politician

"Speech On The Occasion Of The End Of Ramadan H. 1432" https://www.thaiembassy.sg/announcements/speech-by-prime-minister-yingluck-shinawatra-on-the-occasion-of-the-end-of-ramadan-h-1 (2011)

Pierre Emmanuel Félix Chazal photo

“A Prince must not speak the language of the tribunes and proclaim absolute principles in terms which are likely to deeply offend those who are of another opinion than his own.”

Pierre Emmanuel Félix Chazal (1808–1892) Belgian politician (1808-1892)

Source: All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 5. A prospectus by the military Chazal and Brialmont, The Importance of General Chazal in Colonial Politics. http://www.ethesis.net/leopold_II/leopold_II.htm#2.%20 KMLKG, Papiers Chazal, 65/1, Chazal aan de hertog van Brabant, 28 juni 1859.

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj photo

“We have a long-term goal to build the foundation for continued, practical cooperation by continuously holding official and unofficial meetings based on the principle of respecting the rights and proposals of the participants.”

Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj (1963) Mongolian politician

Source: "Mongolian president signals intention to help resolve N.K. nuclear standoff" in Yonhap News Agency https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20160716002400315 (16 July 2016)

Epifanio de los Santos photo
Leopold II of Belgium photo

“A Prince must not speak the language of the tribunes and proclaim absolute principles in terms which are likely to deeply offend those who are of another opinion than his own.”

Leopold II of Belgium (1835–1909) King of the Belgians

Source: All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 5. A prospectus by the military Chazal and Brialmont, The Importance of General Chazal in Colonial Politics. http://www.ethesis.net/leopold_II/leopold_II.htm#2.%20 KMLKG, Papiers Chazal, 65/1, Chazal aan de hertog van Brabant, 28 juni 1859.

Shashi Tharoor photo

“Secularism as principle and practice is in danger, but I do not see it falling anytime soon: India embodies tolerance and pluralism in its very essence, and I do not believe that forces of hatred can permanently overcome our fundamental secularism.”

Shashi Tharoor (1956) Indian politician, diplomat, author

Source: "Secularism as principle and practice in India is in ‘danger’: Shashi Tharoor" https://indianexpress.com/article/india/shashi-tharoor-new-book-securalism-religion-6912107/, The Indian Express, November 1, 2020.

Vera Stanley Alder photo
Vera Stanley Alder photo
Vera Stanley Alder photo
James Madison photo

“The United States while they wish for war with no nation, will buy peace with none, it being a principle incorporated into the settled policy of America, that as peace is better than war, so war is better than tribute.”

James Madison (1751–1836) 4th president of the United States (1809 to 1817)

A paraphrased variant of this seems to have arisen on the internet around 2007: It is ... a settled policy of America, that as peace is better than war, war is better than tribute. The United States, while they wish for war with no nation, will buy peace with none.
1810s
Source: Message delivered to Dey Omar Agha, by Isaac Chauncey and William Shaler , summarizing the Treaty with Algiers (1815) http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/bar1815t.asp, and U.S attitudes and actions in the Barbary Wars, in refusing to pay ransom or tribute to pirates of the Barbary States, as quoted in History and Present Condition of Tripoli: With Some Accounts of the Other Barbary States http://books.google.com/books?id=YMwRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA46 (1835) by Robert Greenhow, p. 46

Viktor Yanukovych photo

“My principles which I always follow are that no authority, no power is worth a drop of blood.”

Viktor Yanukovych (1950) Ukrainian politician who was the President of Ukraine

Source: "Yanukovych: 'I Was Wrong' To Ask Russian Troops Into Crimea" in NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/02/298385578/yanukovych-i-was-wrong-to-ask-russian-troops-into-crimea (2 April 2014)

David Lloyd George photo

“I ask anyone to point to any territorial change we made in respect to Germany in Europe which is in the least an injustice, judged by any principle of fairness.”

David Lloyd George (1863–1945) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Prime Minister
Source: Speech http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1919/jul/03/territorial-adjustments#column_1215 in the House of Commons on the Treaty of Versailles (3 July 1919)

Zhu Fenglian photo

“We urge the US to stick to the 'one China' principle and the three joint communiques.”

Zhu Fenglian (1977)

Source: "Biden administration invites Taiwan to its 'Summit for Democracy,' infuriating Beijing" in CNN https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/23/asia/biden-taiwan-summit-for-democracy-intl-hnk/index.html (24 November 2021)

G. K. Chesterton photo

“Moral issues are always terribly complex for someone without principles.”

G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English mystery novelist and Christian apologist

Misattributed

Laurence Tribe photo
Aristotle photo

“It is impossible for the same attribute at once to belong and not to belong to the same thing and in the same relation"; and we must add any further qualifications that may be necessary to meet logical objections. This is the most certain of principles, since it possesses the required definition; for it is impossible for anyone to suppose that the same thing is and is not, as some imagine that Heraclitus says.”

Book IV, 1005
Metaphysics
Original: (el) τὸ γὰρ αὐτὸ ἅμα ὑπάρχειν τε καὶ μὴ ὑπάρχειν ἀδύνατον τῷ αὐτῷ καὶ κατὰ τὸ αὐτό (καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα προσδιορισαίμεθ᾽ ἄν, ἔστω προσδιωρισμένα πρὸς τὰς λογικὰς δυσχερείας): αὕτη δὴ πασῶν ἐστὶ βεβαιοτάτη τῶν ἀρχῶν: ἔχει γὰρ τὸν εἰρημένον διορισμόν. ἀδύνατον γὰρ ὁντινοῦν ταὐτὸν ὑπολαμβάνειν εἶναι καὶ μὴ εἶναι, καθάπερ τινὲς οἴονται λέγειν Ἡράκλειτον.
Source: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0051%3Abook%3D4%3Asection%3D1005b

Benjamin Disraeli photo

“The principle of the feudal system, the principle which was practically operated upon, was the noblest principle, the grandest, the most magnificent and benevolent that was ever conceived by sage, or ever practised by patriot.”

Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) British Conservative politician, writer, aristocrat and Prime Minister

Source: Speech in Shrewsbury (9 May 1843), quoted in Selected Speeches of the Late Right Honourable the Earl of Beaconsfield, Volume I, ed. T. E. Kebbel (1882), p. 51

John Thomas Flynn photo
Lajos Kossuth photo
John Wesley photo
Gilbert Murray photo

“Philosophy is the attempt to formulate principles or categories which the philosopher already possesses, in common with everyone else, but in an unformulated state.”

Otis Hamilton Lee (1902–1948) American philosopher

Source: [10.1086/286600, Philosophy and Science, Philosophy of Science, 7, 7–17, 1940, Lee, Otis]

Kyūichi Tokuda photo
Umberto Eco photo

“The basic principle [of hermetic drift semiotics] is not only that the similar can be known through the similar but also that from similarity to similarity everything can be connected with everything else, so that everything can be in turn either the expression or the content of any other thing.”

Umberto Eco (1932–2016) Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist

U. Eco (1990), The limits of Intepretation, as quoted in Thomas A. Sebeok, Jean Umiker-Sebeok (2020), The Semiotic Web 1991: Biosemiotics https://books.google.it/books?id=NUK0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA53.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal photo
Thomas Jefferson photo

“Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

1800s, First Inaugural Address (1801)

Ottobah Cugoano photo

“Slavery is an evil of the first magnitude, ... and contrary to all the genuine principles of Christianity, and yet carried on by men denominated thereby.”

Ottobah Cugoano (1757–1791) African abolitionist in England

Source: Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery (1787), p. 24

Sergey Lavrov photo
Aristotle photo

“You cannot trick me into applying my principles to a hypothetical situation which will only work out the way that you want it to. Not when I am certain that it will not arise.”

Roger Zelazny (1937–1995) American speculative fiction writer

Source: Short fiction, Home is the Hangman (1975), p. 138

Leonid Kuchma photo
Frank Lloyd Wright photo
Frank Lloyd Wright photo

“Exuberance to me early meant ecstacy of love, the poetic principle of life.”

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) American architect (1867-1959)

A Testament (1957)

Prevale photo

“Nowadays there are lucky people to have parents with healthy principles. I am very grateful to mine for teaching me education, honesty and their great culture.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: Oggigiorno esistono persone fortunate ad avere genitori con sani princìpi. Sono molto grato ai miei per avermi insegnato l'educazione, l'onestà e la loro grande cultura.
Source: prevale.net