The Golden Rule/Quotes

• Main
• Laconic
• Quotes
• Useful Notes
• All Subpages
  • WMG
• Create New

There are many sources for the Golden Rule:

Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy

"What I condemn in another I will, if I may, avoid myself." —Herodotus, writing in the 400s BCE

"Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing." —Thales of Miletus

"What you wish your neighbors to be to you, such be also to them." —Sextus the Pythagorean

"Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others." —Isocrates

"What thou avoidest suffering thyself seek not to impose on others." —Epictetus

"Treat your inferiors as you would be treated by your superiors" —Seneca, Epistle 47:11

Bahai

"And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself" —Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

Hinduism / Brahmanism

"This is the sum of Dharma [duty]: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you". —Mahabharata, 5:1517

Buddhism

"...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?" —Samyutta Nikaya, v. 353

"Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." —Udanavarga, 5:18

Christianity: The Gospels

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." —Matthew 7:12

"Love thy neighbor as thyself." —Matthew 22:39

"Do unto others as you would have done unto you." —Luke 6:31

Confucianism

"Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself." —Confucius, Analects, XV.24

"Tse-kung asked, 'Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?' Confucius replied, 'It is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'" —Doctrine of the Mean, 13.3

Islam

"That which you want for yourself, seek for mankind." —Hadith Sukhanan-i-Muhammad

"Fear God wherever you tread, erase bad deeds with good ones, and be kind to mankind." —The Prophet Muhammad, Hadith Sunan al-Tirmidhi

"...if anyone slays a human being-unless it be [in punishment] for murder or for spreading corruption on earth-it shall be as though he had slain all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind..." —The Quran, 5:32

Judaism

"Love thy neighbor as thyself." —Leviticus 19:18.

"What is hateful to thee, do not unto thy fellow; this is the whole law." —The Talmud, Tractate Shabat, 30a

Moral Philosophy

"Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end." —Immanuel Kant, second formulation of the categorical imperative

"Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." —Immanuel Kant, first formulation of the categorical imperative - according to Kant, this quote has the same meaning as the quotes above.

---

Back to The Golden Rule