The old man said, ‘You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity. At some time, every creature which lives must do so. It is the ultimate shadow, the defeat of creation; this is the curse at work, the curse that feeds on all life. Everywhere in the universe.

You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity.

Observance of customs and laws can very easily be a cloak for a lie so subtle that our fellow human beings are unable to detect it. It may help us to escape all criticism, we may even be able to deceive ourselves in the belief of our obvious righteousness. But deep down, below the surface of the average man's conscience, he hears a voice whispering, 'There is something not right,' no matter how much his rightness is supported by public opinion or by the moral code.

Many a law, many a commandment have I broken, but my word never.

It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity.

If Eric thinks I did something right, I must have done it wrong.

I was so anxious to do what is right that I forgot to do what <i>is</i> right.

Do what thou wilt, the most sublimely austere ethical precept ever uttered, despite its apparent license.

Everything popular is wrong. — OSCAR WILDE, The Importance of Being Earnest

It is time to remind ourselves that today’s thoughts and actions become our legacy. When we forget this or lie to ourselves thinking our actions do not matter, we have permission to act as momentary buffoons. We let ourselves break, just this once, from our values. We cheat, just this once. We lie, just this once. We put off the hard task, just this once. We skip the workout, just this week. We take the drink, just one more. And soon we find that each of these little breaks in our will leads to another, and then to a lifetime of compromise and regret. Without vigilance, what is right and strong about the human spirit can be whittled away and broken forever.

You don’t understand the basic assumptions of your own culture if your own culture is the only culture you know.

As a good rule of thumb, if you have to lie, you might be doing something wrong.

Everything popular is wrong.

Misunderstanding a culture's symbols is a common root of predujice.