Bad man Quote by Rhoda Broughton
““Now for the stuff that he was made of inside, which it required more intimate knowledge to give an opinion of. Not a good man at all. A bad man, if tried by a high standard—that standard we shall all be tried by at last; measured and weighed by the world’s weights and measures, a good fellow enough. O, the immeasurable distance between a good man and a good fellow! A dissipated, self-indulgent man, like all the other men in his set. One who walked along life’s pathway with his eyes glued to the crumbling dust-heaps of the earth, instead of raised in glad expectancy and awed contemplation to those skyey chambers, built all of pure, untarnished gold, which are waiting for us above the sun and the moon and the stars. He might hug himself with the satisfactory reflection that, during the six lustres[60] of his existence, he had not done one atom of good to any human being, but, on the contrary, had done a good deal of harm:””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Heir of the House, 1865
The passage contrasts genuine moral integrity with self‑indulgent, harmful behavior, urging higher standards and spiritual aspiration beyond earthly concerns.
In simple terms: Goodness versus selfish harm; aim higher.
Key Takeaway
Seek moral growth and higher purpose.
Themes
morality
spirituality
self‑reflection
humanity
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- personal development
- community service
- philosophical contemplation
Key Concepts
ethical standards
existential aspiration
Questions to Reflect On
- What standards guide your actions?
- How can you rise above selfish impulses?
A Different Perspective
Human nature often defaults to self‑interest despite higher ideals.
![“Beauty is a fading flower;”[3] and, applied particularly to woman’s loveliness, there is none more favourite among that bundle of dull platitudes, of insipid, trite commonplaces which enrol themselves under the head of moral maxims. Of course it is true—tiresomely, provokingly, heart-breakingly…” quote by Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/16a/rhoda-broughton-25508_beauty_beauty-is-a-fading-flower-3-and-applied_371805.jpg)
![“To how few people a premonition of what is going to happen to them, either of sweet or sour, is vouchsafed! Is it a blessing or a curse? A blessing, I suppose, on the principle of “whatever is, is right”[376]—-a blessing even apart from that doctrine, I think. Would the delight of gloating over…” quote by Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3d3/rhoda-broughton-25508_blessings_to-how-few-people-a-premonition-of-what_666590.jpg)
