--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We cannot look to the conscience of the…" description: "\"We cannot look to the conscience of the world when our own conscience is asleep.\" — Carl von Ossietzky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a34/carl-von-ossietzky-75655_conscience_we-cannot-look-to-the-conscience-of-the_77338.png" --- # We cannot look to the conscience of the world when our own… ![“We cannot look to the conscience of the world when our own conscience is asleep.” quote by Carl von Ossietzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a34/carl-von-ossietzky-75655_conscience_we-cannot-look-to-the-conscience-of-the_77338.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a34/carl-von-ossietzky-75655_conscience_we-cannot-look-to-the-conscience-of-the_77338.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a34/carl-von-ossietzky-75655_conscience_we-cannot-look-to-the-conscience-of-the_77338.png) > “We cannot look to the conscience of the world when our own conscience is asleep.” Carl von Ossietzky ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When personal moral awareness is dormant, we cannot expect the world to guide us ethically. **In simple terms:** Self-awareness precedes external judgment. Key Takeaway Moral vigilance is personal. Themes ethical responsibility self-awareness social critique moral philosophy Mood thoughtful serious Type aphoristic philosophical When to use this quote - making policy decisions - evaluating societal norms - personal ethical dilemmas Key Concepts conscience worldview sleep metaphor Practical Applications - ethical leadership - social activism Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure your conscience remains active? - What happens when societies ignore personal moral lapses? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [We cannot appeal to the conscience of the world when our own conscience is asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-ossietzky/we-cannot-appeal-to-the-conscience-of-the-world-when-our-own/) Carl Von Ossietzky > [The Jews are the conscience of the world. They are the father figures, stern, critical, and forbidding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-hilberg/the-jews-are-the-conscience-of-the-world-they-are-the-father-figures/) [Raul Hilberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-hilberg/) > [Each day look into your conscience and amend your faults; if you fail in this duty you will be untrue to the Knowledge and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/each-day-look-into-your-conscience-and-amend-your-faults-if-you-fail/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Remember, as long as you live, that nothing but strict truth can carry you through the world, with either your conscience or your honor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remember-as-long-as-you-live-that-nothing-but-strict-truth-can-carry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They rob the poor under the over of law, while we plunder the rich under the protection of our courage. We are free princes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rima-jean/they-rob-the-poor-under-the-over-of-law-while-we-plunder-the-rich/) Rima Jean > [Let us not sneer at the values of the World's conscience, whose indignation has already forced Hitler's fascism to retrreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-blum/let-us-not-sneer-at-the-values-of-the-world-s-conscience-whose/) [Leon Blum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-blum/) > [The U.N. acts as the world's conscience, and over eighty-five percent of the work that is done by the United Nations is in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-temple/the-u-n-acts-as-the-world-s-conscience-and-over-eighty-five-percent/) [Shirley Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-temple/) > [“In today's world one's conscience needs to be affordable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-abraham/in-today-s-world-one-s-conscience-needs-to-be-affordable/) [Amit Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-abraham/) > [In 1938, after Austria, our universe had become accustomed to inhumanity, to lawlessness, and brutality as never in centuries before. In a former day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/in-1938-after-austria-our-universe-had-become-accustomed-to/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [A human being can fool the entire world but his own Conscience under any circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/a-human-being-can-fool-the-entire-world-but-his-own-conscience-under/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [The world has achieved brilliance without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-has-achieved-brilliance-without-conscience-ours-is-a-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think I was the healthiest prisoner of conscience in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aung-san-suu-kyi/i-think-i-was-the-healthiest-prisoner-of-conscience-in-the-world/) [Aung San Suu Kyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aung-san-suu-kyi/) > [“A writer is the conscience of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/a-writer-is-the-conscience-of-the-world/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-bradley/the-world-has-achieved-brilliance-without-wisdom-power-without-2/) Omar Bradley > [The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Our is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-n-bradley-2/the-world-has-achieved-brilliance-without-wisdom-power-without/) Omar N Bradley ## More by Carl von Ossietzky > [The hellish instruments of war must be smoked out while there is still peace. The Trade Union Movement must be compelled not to allow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-ossietzky/the-hellish-instruments-of-war-must-be-smoked-out-while-there-is/) Carl von Ossietzky > [We cannot appeal to the conscience of the world when our own conscience is asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-ossietzky/we-cannot-appeal-to-the-conscience-of-the-world-when-our-own/) Carl Von Ossietzky Explore all 3 Carl von Ossietzky quotes ## More Conscience quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another ones right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-ones-belief-but-it/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [I've worked with people who are much further to the left than I am and much further to the right than I am. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/i-ve-worked-with-people-who-are-much-further-to-the-left-than-i-am/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) [Browse all 3,490 Conscience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We cannot look to the conscience of the world when our own conscience is asleep.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl von Ossietzky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-ossietzky/we-cannot-look-to-the-conscience-of-the-world-when-our-own-conscience/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conscience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-ossietzky/we-cannot-look-to-the-conscience-of-the-world-when-our-own-conscience/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a34/carl-von-ossietzky-75655_conscience_we-cannot-look-to-the-conscience-of-the_77338.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a34/carl-von-ossietzky-75655_conscience_we-cannot-look-to-the-conscience-of-the_77338.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a34/carl-von-ossietzky-75655_conscience_we-cannot-look-to-the-conscience-of-the_77338.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We cannot look to the conscience of the world when our own conscience is asleep.” — Carl von Ossietzky", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Carl von Ossietzky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-ossietzky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We cannot look to the conscience...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-ossietzky/we-cannot-look-to-the-conscience-of-the-world-when-our-own-conscience/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-ossietzky/we-cannot-look-to-the-conscience-of-the-world-when-our-own-conscience/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```