A god implants in mortal guilt whenever he wants utterly to confound a house.
AeschylusRead
ATHENA: You wish to be called righteous rather than act right. [...] I say, wrong must not win by technicalities.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of genuine righteousness over mere appearances or technicalities in ethical behavior.
In this quote, Athena asserts that true righteousness is about acting in accordance with moral principles rather than merely seeking the title or label of being righteous. It suggests that ethical behavior should be the priority, as wrongful actions should not be allowed to succeed simply due to clever arguments or loopholes, thus urging people to focus on integrity and moral clarity in their decisions.
Themes
RighteousnessIntegrityMoralityJusticeEthics
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about ethical decision-making in business.
More from Aeschylus
All quotes βNeither a life of anarchy nor a life under a despot should you praise. To all that lies in the middle has a god given excellence.
AeschylusRead
In every tyrant's heart there springs in the end this poison, that he cannot trust a friend.
AeschylusRead
It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man the oath.
AeschylusRead
In war, truth is the first casualty.
AeschylusRead
There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief.
AeschylusRead
Similar quotes
Addiction should never be treated as a crime. It has to be treated as a health problem. We do not send alcoholics to jail in this country. Over 500,000 people are in our jails who are nonviolent drug users.
Ralph NaderRead
Whatever you may be sure of, be sure of this, that you are dreadfully like other people.
James Russell LowellRead
Slavery is ...an atrocious debasement of human nature.
Benjamin FranklinRead
Bring down the curtain, the farce is over
Francois RabelaisRead
Not, not mine: it's somebody else's wound; I could never have borne it. So take the thing that happened, hide it, stick it in the ground; whisk the lamps away.
Anna AkhmatovaRead
It's a great responsibility before God, the judge who guides us, who draws us to truth and good, and in this sense the church must unmask evil, rendering present the goodness of God, rendering present his truth, the truly infinite for which we are thirsty.
Pope Benedict XviRead