Selfish Men Quotes

The small share of happiness attainable by man exists only insofar as he is able to cease to think of himself. ~ Theodor Reik

Do not cry for me, Azrael. Do not waste your tears. You made your decision. And this is mine. Sacrifice seems to be my destiny. A funny thing for a selfish man, isn't it? They always called me weak back then ... ~ Melissa De La Cruz

He was not an ill-disposed young man, unless to be rather cold hearted, and rather selfish, is to be ill-disposed ... ~ Jane Austen

A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor's. ~ Richard Whately

People talk of the courage of convictions, but in actual life a man's duty to his family may make a rigid course seem a selfish indulgence of his own righteousness. ~ F Scott Fitzgerald

The happiest is the man who is not at all selfish. ~ Swami Vivekananda

Man is naturally more disposed to beneficent than selfish actions. This we learn even from the history of savages. The domestic virtues have something in them so inviting and genial, and the public virtues of the citizen something so grand and inspiring, that even he who is barely uncorrupted, is seldom able to resist their charm. ~ Wilhelm Von Humboldt

There will be selfishness and greed and corruption and narrowness and intolerance in the world tomorrow and tomorrow's tomorrow. But pray God we may have the courage and the wisdom and the vision to raise a definite standard that will appeal to the best that is in man, and then strive mightily toward that goal. ~ Harold Stassen

A man's sentiments are generally just and right, while it is second selfish thought which makes him trim and adopt some other view. The best reforms are worked out when sentiment operates, as it does in women, with the indignation of righteousness. ~ Leland Stanford

Of all influences that cause men to choose wrong, selfishness is undoubtedly the strongest. Where it is, the Spirit is not. ~ William R. Bradford

We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American Eagle in order to feather their own nests. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

Under private property, each tries to establish over the other an alien power, so as thereby to find satisfaction of his own selfish need. The increase in the quantity of objects is therefore accompanied by an extension of the realm of the alien powers to which man is subjected, and every new product represents a new potentiality of mutual swindling and mutual plundering. ~ Karl Marx

A man, if he be active and energetic, can hardly fail also, be he never so selfish, of benefiting the general public interest. ~ Benjamin Butler

Where had all the morality vanished from earth? Were we, women, always meant to live in fear, behave like puppets for the ever-demanding desires of selfish men? Did God forget to add a chapter on women's prerogative when He was designing and creating this world? Or maybe HE himself was a man; the distinguished ruler whom nobody could question; who could make and amend His own rules as per His wishes and desires. ~ Shikha Kaul

In selfish men caution is as secure an armour for their foes as for themselves. ~ Bram Stoker

Good leaders wait to be called and they give up their power when they are no longer needed. Selfish men and fools put themselves first and keep their power until someone throws them out. It is no good to have a way where selfish men and fools fight with each other to be leaders, while the good ones watch. ~ Kent Nerburn

Selfish men were ... trying to make capital for themselves out of the sacred cause of civil rights ~ Maria Weston Chapman

It's usually pointed out that women are not fit for political power, and ought not to be trusted with a vote because they are politically ignorant, socially prejudiced, narrow-minded, and selfish. True enough, but precisely the same is true of men! ~ George Bernard Shaw

Ultimately there can be no freedom for self unless it is vouchsafed for others; there can be no security where there is fear, and a democratic society presupposes confidence and candor in the relations of men with one another and eager collaboration for the larger ends of life instead of the pursuit of petty, selfish or vainglorious aims. ~ Felix Frankfurter

The men who carry their points do not need to inquire of their constituents what they should say, but are themselves the country which they represent: nowhere are its emotions or opinions so instant and so true as in them; nowhere so pure from a selfish infusion. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Probably the greatest need in the Church today is a body of men who are absolutely devoted, every selfish purpose and plan given up, to the one great end of magnifying the Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of the nation. ~ Wilbur Moorehead Smith

A selfish basis would not serve the purpose of taking a man higher and higher along the paths of evolution. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Man is known to be a selfish, as well as a social being. ~ James Madison

The charlatan takes very different shapes according to circumstances; but at bottom he is a man who cares nothing about knowledge for its own sake, and only strives to gain the semblance of
it that he may use it for his own personal ends, which are always selfish and material. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer

For a man filled with a great, true and unselfish love, even if it be on one side only, there open horizons and possibilities and paths which are closed and unknown to so many clever, ambitious, and selfish men. ~ Ivo Andric

A mere literary man is a dull man; a man who is solely a man of business is a selfish man; but when literature and commerce are united, they make a respectable man. ~ Samuel Johnson

Oh! If those selfish men, who are the cause of all one's misery, only knew what their poor slaves go through! What suffering, what humiliation to the delicate feelings of a poor woman, above all a young one, especially with those nasty doctors. ~ Queen Victoria

All men are selfish, but the vain man is in love with himself. He admires, like the lover his adored one, everything which to others is indifferent. ~ Berthold Auerbach

Neither evil tongues, rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men, nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all the dreary intercourse of daily life, shall ever prevail against us. ~ William Wordsworth

Although volume upon volume is written to prove slavery a very good thing, we never hear of the man who wishes to take the good of it, by being a slave himself. ~ Abraham Lincoln

In an individual, selfishness uglifies the soul; for the human species, selfishness is extinction. ~ David Mitchell

Actors - we're selfish, but we can't think about the work in that kind of selfish manner. I think that you have to step away from yourself, if you're going to do it. Otherwise don't do it; otherwise why do it? ~ Charlize Theron

You don't have to apologize," Treston said. "I know where I work, I know what I do to make a living, and I know it's not the most respectable place in Vegas. But frankly, Chad, if you don't mind my saying so, I think you have a lot to learn about good manners."
Chad blinked. "What do you mean?"
Treston reached for his wine glass, finished off what was left to wash down the last forkful of chewy escargot, and said, "All I'm saying is you haven't stopped harping about that blond, and I have to tell you it's getting a little tired now. Seriously, man. It's a little insulting, too." He leaned forward, looked into Chad's eyes, and held his hand. "Look, I know how hard it is for selfish men like you to understand empathy. Lord knows I've been with enough of them. ~ Ryan Field

So I tell you, my son, that the secret of true happiness is for him who asks nothing in return. The perfectly unselfish man is the one who finds his glory in God. Give what you have to give, and it will come back to you. All materials to build thy home in this world or the inner cosmic worlds come from within, from the God center in thy heart. ~ Paul Twitchell

The marketplace obliges men, whether they will or not, in pursuing their own selfish interests, to connect the general good with their own individual success. ~ Edmund Burke

Cute Internet café guy asked me if I was OK and he looked really concerned, which I thought was possibly the beginning of something new for the both of us. But then I realized I was thumping the keyboard with my fists so he was probably only concerned about his computer. I don't know about you but I have no time for selfish men like that in my life so I've decided there's no chance of a steamy love affair occurring between us after hours on the computer desks. Purely my decision though.

Ahern, Cecelia (2005-02-01). Love, Rosie (p. 344). Hachette Books. Kindle Edition. ~ Cecelia Ahern

Personal prudence, even when dictated by quite other than selfish considerations, surely is no special virtue in a military man; while an excessive love of glory, impassioning a less burning impulse, the honest sense of duty, is the first. ~ Herman Melville

Of all forms of government and society, those of free men and women are in many respects the most brittle. They give the fullest freedom for activities of private persons and groups who often identify their own interests, essentially selfish, with the general welfare. ~ Dorothy Thompson

It is imperative that good people, men and women of principle, be involved in the political process; otherwise we abdicate power to those whose designs are almost entirely selfish. ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

This seclusion of the artist with his work, sometimes misconceived as a selfish thing, is in truth as needful a tool as any, if a vision is to be made clear to others. And all the men I have known do creative work obtained it; either mechanically, by the walls of a workroom, or by that withdrawal into themselves which is part of their power. ~ Georgiana Burne-Jones

The existing principle of selfish interest and competition has been carried to its extreme point; and, in its progress, has isolated the heart of man, blunted the edge of his finest sensibilities, and annihilated all his most generous impulses and sympathies. ~ Frances Wright

The scholar was not raised by the sacred thoughts amongst which he dwelt, but used them to selfish ends. He was a profane person,and became a showman, turning his gifts to marketable use, and not to his own sustenance and growth. It was found that the intellect could be independently developed, that is, in separation from the man, as any single organ can be invigorated, and the result was monstrous. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Man must get his thoughts, words and actions out of this vast moral jungle. We are not predators. We are, hopefully, more than instinctive killers and selfish brutes. Why take such a dim view of our potentialities and capabilities? ~ H. Jay Dinshah

Money doesn't change men, it merely unmasks them. If a man is naturally selfish or arrogant or greedy, the money brings that out, that's all. ~ Henry Ford

Three things I have longed to see ... The sea serpent, a white rhinoceros, and an unselfish man. ~ Myrtle Reed

Selfish men make the best lovers. They're prepared to invest in the women's pleasures so that they can collect an even bigger dividend for themselves. ~ J.G. Ballard

My dad has always viewed manhood as a big deal; he likes to say the most endangered species on the planet is manly men. ~ Jase Robertson

In the beginning was the Word'. I have taken as my text this evening the almighty Word itself. Now get this: 'There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.' Amen, brothers and sisters, Amen. And the riddle of the Word, 'In the beginning was the Word....' Now what do you suppose old John meant by that? That cat was a preacher, and, well, you know how it is with preachers; he had something big on his mind. Oh my, it was big; it was the Truth, and it was heavy, and old John hurried to set it down. And in his hurry he said too much. 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' It was the Truth, all right, but it was more than the Truth. The Truth was overgrown with fat, and the fat was God. The fat was John's God, and God stood between John and the Truth. Old John, see, he got up one morning and caught sight of the Truth. It must have been like a bolt of lightning, and the sight of it made him blind. And for a moment the vision burned on the back of his eyes, and he knew what it was. In that instant he saw something he had never seen before and would never see again. That was the instant of revelation, inspiration, Truth. And old John, he must have fallen down on his knees. Man, he must have been shaking and laughing and crying and yelling and praying - all at the same time - and he must have been drunk and delirious with the Truth. You see ~ N. Scott Momaday

There are men whose energies hardly ever carry them beyond looking for the thing they want. ~ Anthony Trollope

But how is it now? All we get is orders; and the laws go out of the state. Them legislators set up there at Austin and don't do nothing but makes laws against kerosene oil and schoolbooks being brought into the state. I reckon they was afraid some man would go home some evening after work and light up and get an education and go to work and make laws to repeal aforesaid laws. ~ O. Henry

I ain't the captain of the yacht, but I'm on the boat;
I ain't acting what I'm not, knowing that I don't.
You niggaz acting like you will, but I know you won't.
Man, I read between the lines of the eyes of your brows,
Your handshake ain't matchin your smile ... ~ Beanie Sigel

The pavilion that seems to be hiding you from God may be fear of man rather than this desire to serve others. The Savior's only motivation was to help people ... I challenge you to go for the Lord to someone, despite any fear you may have, to extend love and forgiveness. I promise you that as you do, you will feel the love of the Savior for that person and His love for you, and it will not seem to come from a great distance. ~ Henry B. Eyring

Watch out for men who love something more than themselves or you. Their passion can be your prison. ~ Gwendolyn Heasley

Awareness is the key that allows you to stop automatically doing things that drive men away and begin naturally doing things that support happy and satisfying relationships. Master this stuff and you'll notice that men, women, children, small animals, large animals, dust bunnies, and anything else that's not glued down will find it virtually impossible to resist you. ~ Marie Forleo

The Vedanta teaches men to have faith in themselves first. ~ Swami Vivekananda

Somehow ungodly men have developed systems of organization which permit them to work together in states of relative harmony and unity, whereas godly men, refusing to admit that these organizational structures are needed, live in states of chaos and disunity. The tragedy of this fact becomes evident when we realize that many of the successful systems of organization under which the godly men work and which the godly men refuse to accept are biblically based. ~ Theodore Wilhelm Engstrom

Men don't and can't live by exchanging articles, but by producing them. They don't live by trade, but by work. Give up that foolish and vain title of Trades Unions; and take that of laborers Unions. ~ John Ruskin

Most of us are conditioned for many years to have a political viewpoint - Republican or Democratic, liberal, conservative, or moderate. The fact of the matter is that most of the problems that we now face are technical problems, are administrative problems. They are very sophisticated judgments, which do not lend themselves to the great sort of passionate movements which have stirred this country so often in the past. - They deal with questions which are now beyond the comprehension of most men. ~ John F. Kennedy

All of the great achievers of the past have been visionary figures; they were men and women who projected into the future. They thought of what could be, rather than what already was, and then they moved themselves into action, to bring these things into fruition. ~ Bob Proctor

I would like to say something, not just to Vietnam veterans in New England, but to men who were in Vietnam, who I hurt, or whose pain I caused to deepen because of the things that I said or did. I was trying to help end the killing and the war, but there were times when I was thoughtless and careless about it and I'm ... very sorry that I hurt them. And I want to apologize to them and their families. ~ Jane Fonda

Assumption of superiority by any person over any other is a sin against God and man. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

The wish to acquire is no doubt a natural and common sentiment, and when men attempt things within their power, they will always be praised rather than blamed. But when they persist in attempts that are beyond their power, mishaps and blame ensue. ~ Niccolo Machiavelli

Sin keeps a man from prayer, and prayer keeps a man from sin. ~ Brigham Young

(Peace!) Piece of what?
You can't mean P-E-A-C-E
Cause I've seen people on the streets
Shoot the next man and turn around and say 'peace.'
But that's leaving people in pieces
It's not what the meaning of peace is. ~ Extra P

Women in the movies got men interested in them by taking charge. Instead, Heddy tended to wish men would want to know her, sense her quickening pulse, note her cheerfulness or the way she twisted her earring as she imagined kissing them. But men never looked that hard, she supposed. ~ Brooke Lea Foster

You want society to accept you; but you can't even accept yourself. ~ Michael Fassbender

If a man doesn't want you at your worst, then he sure as hell doesn't deserve you at your best. ~ Marilyn Monroe

So far as one understands a man, one is that man. The man of genius takes his place in the above argument as he who understands incomparably more other beings than the average man. Goethe is said to have said of himself that there was no vice or crime of which he could not trace the tendency in himself, and that at some period of his life he could not have understood fully. The genius, therefore, is a more complicated, more richly endowed, more varied man; and a man is the closer to being a genius the more men he has in his personality, and the more really and strongly he has these others within him. ~ Otto Weininger

I know it's technically goodwill to all men, but in my mind, I drop the men because that feels segregationist/elitist/sexist/generally bad ist.
Goodwill shouldn't be just for men. It should also apply to women and children, and all animals, even the yucky ones like subway rats. I'd even
extend the goodwill not just to living creatures but to the dearly departed, and if we include them, we might as well include the undead, those
supposedly mythic beings like vampires, and if they're in, then so are elves, fairies, and gnomes. Heck, since we're already being so generous in our
big group hug, why not also embrace those supposedly inanimate objects like dolls and stu ~ Rachel Cohn

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.' These men without possessions or power, these strangers on Earth, these sinners, these followers of Jesus, have in their life with him renounced their own dignity, for they are merciful. As if their own needs and their own distress were not enough, they take upon themselves the distress and humiliation of others. They have an irresistible love for the down-trodden, the sick, the wretched, the wronged, the outcast and all who are tortured with anxiety. They go out and seek all who are enmeshed in the toils of sin and guilt. No distress is too great, no sin too appalling for their pity. If any man falls into disgrace, the merciful will sacrifice their own honour to shield him, and take his shame upon themselves. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

There is not way that you can have a decent life as a man if you aren't awake and aware every moment. Show up for your own life. Don't pass your days in a stupor, content to swallow whatever watery ideas modern society may bottle feed you through the media, satisfied to slumber through life in an instant gratification sugar coma. The most extraordinary gift you've been given is your own humanity, which is about consciousness. So honor that consciousness. ~ Eustace Conway

The storm had now definitely abated, and what thunder there was now grumbled over more distant hills, like a man saying 'And another thing ... ' twenty minutes after admitting he'd lost the argument. ~ Douglas Adams

Those who fear men like laws. ~ Luc De Clapiers

A second-century rabbi said that if 999 angels gave a bad account of a man and one angel reported favorably, God would hear the one angel; even if 999 parts of that one angel's report were unfavorable, God would hearken to the favorable part. ~ Israel Shenker

[My mother] really was an extraordinary, inspirational, tough, cool, sexy, funny woman. And that's the kind of woman I've always surrounded myself with, my friends and particularly my wife, who is not only smarter than and stronger than I am, but occasionally taller, too. I think it also goes back to my father and my stepfather, because they prized wit and resolve in the women they were with above all things and they were among the rare men who understood that recognising someone else's power doesn't diminish your own. ~ Joss Whedon

But the truth is that I dislike most men as much as I dislike women. If anything, I am an equal opportunity misanthropist. ~ Andrew Davidson

Srebrenica's not simply another reminder of man's inhumanity to man, but how intelligent people can always come up with intelligent reasons to do nothing. ~ Scott Simon

'Wild at Heart' simply came out of my journey as a man and then my work with men. ~ John Eldredge

What strength belongs to every plant and animal in nature. The tree or the brook has no duplicity, no pretentiousness, no show. It is, with all its might and main, what it is, and makes one and the same impression and effect at all times. All the thoughts of a turtle are turtles, and of a rabbit, rabbits. But a man is broken and dissipated by the giddiness of his will ; he does not throw himself into his judgments; his genius leads him one way but 't is likely his trade or politics in quite another. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Isn't it wonderful when people do that, when you put all your faith in their being selfish and self -centered and not giving a damn and it turns out, all that time, you were wrong? ~ Joan Frances Turner

But selfish isn't necessarily a bad thing. It only means you take care of yourself and you have to do that to be able to take care of others. ~ Tera Lynn Childs

The men in Vietnam weren't allowed to fight the war with any kind of concern to win by the government. It was like a war of attrition. ~ Sylvester Stallone