Quotes about motives

"Let it be your constant method to look into the design of people's actions, and see what they would be at, as often as it is practicable; and to make this custom the more significant, practice it first upon yourself."

Aurelius, Marcus on motives   

"Never ascribe to an opponent motives meaner than your own."

Barrie, Sir James M. on motives   

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"We are all selfish and I no more trust myself than others with a good motive."

Byron, Lord on motives
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"Every woman is supposed to have the same set of motives, or else to be a monster."

Eliot, George on motives   

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"A person who is keen to shake your hand usually has something up his sleeve."

Guiness, Sir Alec on motives   

"To read between the lines was easier than to follow the text."

James, Henry on motives
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"We should often be ashamed of our finest actions if the world understood all the motives behind them."

La Rochefoucauld, Francois De on motives   

"There's an enduring American compulsion to be on the side of the angels. Expediency alone has never been an adequate American reason for doing anything. When actions are judged, they go before the bar of God, where Mom and the Flag closely flank His presence."

Raban, Jonathan on motives   

"He never does a proper thing without giving an improper reason for it."

Shaw, George Bernard on motives   

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"From his cradle to his grave a man never does a single thing which has any FIRST AND FOREMOST object but one -- to secure peace of mind, spiritual comfort, for HIMSELF."

Twain, Mark on motives   

"Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives."

Wilde, Oscar on motives
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