“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.”
John Stuart Mill
Standing UpResponsibility
Good Quotes
200 FAMOUS QUOTES · GOOD
Good Quotes
Read the best good quotes on goodness, kindness and doing good from Mencius, Kant, Tolstoy, Tagore, Shakespeare, the Bible and more. Words to inspire good deeds.
“Nothing can possibly be conceived in the world, or even out of it, which can be called good without qualification, except a good will.”
Immanuel Kant
Good WillPhilosophy
“The tendency of man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards.”
Mencius
Human NatureGoodness
“All men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others.”
Mencius
CompassionHuman Nature
“Be pitiful, for every man is fighting a hard battle.”
Ian Maclaren
KindnessCompassion
“The only reward of virtue is virtue.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
VirtueReward
“Virtue is its own reward.”
Cicero
VirtueShort Quotes
“Good men hate sin through love of virtue.”
Horace
VirtueCharacter
“He doubly benefits the needy who gives quickly.”
Publilius Syrus
GenerosityHelping Others
“The one who gives should forget it at once; the one who receives should never forget it.”
Seneca
GenerosityGratitude
“Goodness without knowledge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous.”
Samuel Johnson
KnowledgeBalance
“What good shall I do this day?”
Benjamin Franklin
Daily GoodnessMorning Routine
“Do good to thy friend to keep him, to thy enemy to gain him.”
Benjamin Franklin
FriendshipKindness
“Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever; do noble things, not dream them all day long.”
Charles Kingsley
CharacterAction
“There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.”
Leo Tolstoy
GreatnessTruth
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
Aesop
KindnessFables
“One good turn deserves another.”
Aesop
KindnessFables
“Good, the more communicated, more abundant grows.”
John Milton
SharingGenerosity
“Honour and shame from no condition rise; act well your part, there all the honour lies.”
Alexander Pope
HonourCharacter
“He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars.”
William Blake
Small ActsKindness
“We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.”
Jane Austen
ConscienceWisdom
“He who wants to do good knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the gate open.”
Rabindranath Tagore
LoveKindness
“They alone live who live for others; the rest are more dead than alive.”
Swami Vivekananda
ServicePurpose
“No one who does good, my friend, ever comes to an evil end.”
The Bhagavad Gita
HopeGoodness
“Hasten to do good; restrain your mind from evil. He who is slow in doing good, his mind delights in evil.”
Buddha
ActionMindfulness
Related Topics
About Good Quotes
Being good isn't about grand gestures. It's about the small choices we make every day: telling the truth, helping someone who needs it, being patient when it's hard and doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Across every culture and century, people have agreed that goodness is one of the most valuable things a person can have.
This collection brings together 200 of the best good quotes from Mencius, Immanuel Kant, Leo Tolstoy, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Thiruvalluvar, William Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, the Bible and more. Some will inspire you to do good, some explain why goodness matters, and a few will make you smile. For more uplifting words, explore our [Positive Quotes](/topics/positive-quotes).
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Good quotes.
What is a famous quote about being good?
John Stuart Mill warned that "bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing." It's often misquoted as "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing," a line with no reliable source, but Mill's version is genuine.
What did Mencius say about human goodness?
The Chinese philosopher Mencius believed people are naturally good, writing that "the tendency of man's nature to good is like the tendency of water to flow downwards."
What does the Bible say about doing good?
The Bible encourages us to "depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it" (Psalm 34:14). After the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus simply said, "Go, and do thou likewise."
What did Tagore and Vivekananda say about goodness?
Rabindranath Tagore wrote, "He who wants to do good knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the gate open." Swami Vivekananda said, "They alone live who live for others."
How can I do good every day?
Benjamin Franklin started each morning by asking, "What good shall I do this day?" Small, everyday acts of kindness, honesty and help add up to a good life.
What are good short quotes about goodness?
Try "Virtue is its own reward," "One good turn deserves another," "Go, and do thou likewise," or "Compassion is the root of righteousness."