--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man's first duty is to his own…" description: "\"A man's first duty is to his own conscience and honor; the party and country come second to that, and never first.\" — Mark Twain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/mark-twain-22_conscience_a-man-s-first-duty-is-to-his-own-conscie_2550178.png" --- # A man's first duty is to his own conscience and honor; the… ![“A man's first duty is to his own conscience and honor; the party and country come second to that, and never first.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/mark-twain-22_conscience_a-man-s-first-duty-is-to-his-own-conscie_2550178.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/mark-twain-22_conscience_a-man-s-first-duty-is-to-his-own-conscie_2550178.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/mark-twain-22_conscience_a-man-s-first-duty-is-to-his-own-conscie_2550178.png) > “A man's first duty is to his own conscience and honor; the party and country come second to that, and never first.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person should prioritize personal integrity and conscience over loyalty to groups or nations. **In simple terms:** Put conscience first, then party and country. Key Takeaway Live by your own moral compass. Themes integrity conscience politics honor individualism Mood reflective serious Type ethical political When to use this quote - political activism - career decisions - ethical dilemmas - leadership challenges Key Concepts ethical duty personal morality civic responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal ethics with collective expectations? - When should you challenge authority for conscience’s sake? A Different Perspective Group pressure can sometimes override personal values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Conscience Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience-honor-642414/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Duty Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-conscience-1318740/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Man Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-duty-372912/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [Since National Socialism came to power, I have striven to make its consequences milder for its victims and to prepare the way for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmuth-james-graf-von-moltke/since-national-socialism-came-to-power-i-have-striven-to-make-its/) [Helmuth James Graf von Moltke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmuth-james-graf-von-moltke/) > [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/) > [Duty is duty, conscience is conscience, right is right, and wrong is wrong, whatever sized type they may be printed in. " Large" or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/duty-is-duty-conscience-is-conscience-right-is-right-and-wrong-is/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [“Duty and conscience were, for Theodora, attributes which belonged properly to Girl Scouts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/duty-and-conscience-were-for-theodora-attributes-which-belonged/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [I have made no secret, either privately or publicly, of any sense of outrage over officially enforced military and war service. I regard it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-have-made-no-secret-either-privately-or-publicly-of-any-sense-of/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Conscience is doubtless sufficient to conduct the coldest character into the road of virtue; but enthusiasm is to conscience what honor is to duty;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/conscience-is-doubtless-sufficient-to-conduct-the-coldest-character/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [The world will never be in any manner of order or tranquility until men are firmly convinced that conscience, honor and credit are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/the-world-will-never-be-in-any-manner-of-order-or-tranquility-until/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [England expects every man to do his duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/england-expects-every-man-to-do-his-duty/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [A little library, growing every year, is an honorable part of a man’s history. It is a man’s duty to have books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/a-little-library-growing-every-year-is-an-honorable-part-of-a-man-s/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Then at once they reached and hovered upon the imminent verge of sleep - but an intruder came, now, that would not "down". It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/then-at-once-they-reached-and-hovered-upon-the-imminent-verge-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Government being, among other purposes, instituted to protect the consciences of men from oppression, it certainly is the duty of Rulers, not only to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/government-being-among-other-purposes-instituted-to-protect-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [A man's duty? To be ready -- with rifle or rood -- to defend his home when the showdown comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-s-duty-to-be-ready-with-rifle-or-rood-to-defend-his-home-when/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The foundation of a man's duty as a man is in truth. Beyond this there is nothing to be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torii-mototada/the-foundation-of-a-man-s-duty-as-a-man-is-in-truth-beyond-this-there/) [Torii Mototada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torii-mototada/) > [I take it as a man's duty to restrain himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-take-it-as-a-man-s-duty-to-restrain-himself/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“You’re a young man now, not a child. Question is, what are you gonna do to earn your keep? To pay back what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/you-re-a-young-man-now-not-a-child-question-is-what-are-you-gonna-do/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "A man's first duty is to his own conscience and honor; the party and country come second to that, and never first.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-s-first-duty-is-to-his-own-conscience-and-honor-the-party-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conscience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-s-first-duty-is-to-his-own-conscience-and-honor-the-party-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/mark-twain-22_conscience_a-man-s-first-duty-is-to-his-own-conscie_2550178.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/mark-twain-22_conscience_a-man-s-first-duty-is-to-his-own-conscie_2550178.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/909/mark-twain-22_conscience_a-man-s-first-duty-is-to-his-own-conscie_2550178.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A man's first duty is to his own conscience and honor; the party and country come second to that, and never…” — Mark Twain", "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": "Mark Twain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A man's first duty is to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-s-first-duty-is-to-his-own-conscience-and-honor-the-party-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-s-first-duty-is-to-his-own-conscience-and-honor-the-party-and/#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 } } ] } ```