CURATED COLLECTION

Doing the Right Thing

The right choice is rarely the easy one — and the hardest part is knowing which is which.

50 quotes found

“
No iron can pierce the heart with such force as a period put right.

—Isaac BabelWriter

Early Modern ERA • Eastern Europe

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The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.

—Harper LeeNovelist

Post-War ERA • North America

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Remember always that you have not only the right to be an individual; you have an obligation to be one.

—Eleanor RooseveltDiplomat & Activist

Post-War ERA • North America

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Every man has a right to be afraid. No man has a right to be silent.

—Elias CanettiWriter

Post-War ERA • Eastern Europe

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Let woman go on – not asking favors, but claiming as a right, the removal of all hindrances to her elevation.

—Lucretia MottAbolitionist & Activist

Industrial Age ERA • North America

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There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.

—Paulo CoelhoNovelist

Late Modern ERA • Latin America

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Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.

—Hypatia of AlexandriaMathematician, Philosopher & Astronomer

Ancient World ERA • North Africa

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My only interest in life is to do what I feel is right.

—Sade AduScholar & Thinker

Digital Age ERA • West Africa

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Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.

—HoraceLyric Poet

Ancient World ERA • Southern Europe

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If you believe in living a respectable life, you believe in self‑help, which is the best help.

—B.R. AmbedkarJurist, Economist & Reformer

Early Modern ERA • South Asia

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I write because nobody has the right to silence me.

—Maryse CondéNovelist

Late Modern ERA • Caribbean

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Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.

—Honoré de BalzacNovelist

Industrial Age ERA • Western Europe

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Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.

—Martin Luther King Jr.Activist & Minister

Post-War ERA • North America

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To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.

—George WashingtonPresident & General

Enlightenment ERA • North America

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The only thing to do is write. And endure.

—Roberto BolañoNovelist & Poet

Contemporary ERA • Latin America

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The most dangerous thing you can do is play it safe.

—Angélique KidjoScholar & Thinker

Digital Age ERA • West Africa

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You can tell a truth that frightens people or a lie that comforts them.

—Naguib MahfouzNovelist & Writer

Post-War ERA • North Africa

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La libertad es la elección que haces cada día, no un don que se te da.

—Cristina Peri RossiPoet & Novelist

Late Modern ERA • Latin America

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Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.

—Bruce LeeMartial Artist & Philosopher

Post-War ERA • East Asia

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Queerness isn't a choice; it's a vibrant, undeniable truth. Embrace your authentic self.

—R. Zamora LinmarkNovelist & Poet

Late Modern ERA • Southeast Asia

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