--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Either what we hold to be right and good…" description: "\"Either what we hold to be right and good and true IS right and good and true, for all mankind, or we're just another robber tribe.\" — Sean Connery" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/sean-connery-5501_mankind_either-what-we-hold-to-be-right-and-good_904208.png" --- # Either what we hold to be right and good and true IS right… ![“Either what we hold to be right and good and true IS right and good and true, for all mankind, or we're just another robber tribe.” quote by Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/sean-connery-5501_mankind_either-what-we-hold-to-be-right-and-good_904208.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/sean-connery-5501_mankind_either-what-we-hold-to-be-right-and-good_904208.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/sean-connery-5501_mankind_either-what-we-hold-to-be-right-and-good_904208.png) > “Either what we hold to be right and good and true IS right and good and true, for all mankind, or we're just another robber tribe.” [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement asserts that universal moral truths are either absolute for all humanity or merely the rules of a particular group. **In simple terms:** Moral truth is either universal or tribal. Key Takeaway Seek universal ethics. Themes ethics universalism tribalism Mood thought‑provoking serious Type philosophical debate When to use this quote - political discourse - global policy - community standards - education curricula Key Concepts moral philosophy cultural relativism Questions to Reflect On - Are there truly universal morals? - How do tribal norms challenge universal ethics? 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That's why they're cliches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-di-piero/every-cliche-is-true-right-that-s-why-they-re-cliches/) [W. S. Di Piero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-di-piero/) > [“So true. You have to have the right shoes for the occasion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-macpherson/so-true-you-have-to-have-the-right-shoes-for-the-occasion/) Suzanne Macpherson > [When its true, when it's right, love can give you the kind of joy that you can't get from any other experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/when-its-true-when-it-s-right-love-can-give-you-the-kind-of-joy-that/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [“Women often wonder, "How do I know if I am on the right track?" The answer is simple. If you are being true to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonya-sheridan/women-often-wonder-how-do-i-know-if-i-am-on-the-right-track-the/) [Tonya Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tonya-sheridan/) > [ETHNOLOGY, n. The science that treats of the various tribes of Man, as robbers, thieves, swindlers, dunces, lunatics, idiots and ethnologists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/ethnology-n-the-science-that-treats-of-the-various-tribes-of-man-as/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The universities do not teach all things ... so a doctor must seek out old wives, gypsies, sorcerers, wandering tribes, old robbers, and such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/the-universities-do-not-teach-all-things-so-a-doctor-must-seek-out/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [The essential point here is that all people with small, insecure incomes are in the same boat and ought to be fighting on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-essential-point-here-is-that-all-people-with-small-insecure/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [When the king asked him what he meant by infesting the sea, the pirate defiantly replied: The same as you do when you infest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/when-the-king-asked-him-what-he-meant-by-infesting-the-sea-the-pirate/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [I should have been, I don't know, a con-man, a robber or a prostitute. But it was vanity that made me choose painting, vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-should-have-been-i-don-t-know-a-con-man-a-robber-or-a-prostitute/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More by Sean Connery > [I've always been hopeful about Scotland's prospects. And I now believe more than ever that Scotland is within touching distance of achieving independence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/i-ve-always-been-hopeful-about-scotland-s-prospects-and-i-now-believe/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [I'm fed up with the idiots... the ever-widening gap between people who know how to make movies and the people who green-light the movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/i-m-fed-up-with-the-idiots-the-ever-widening-gap-between-people-who/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [I am not an Englishman, I was never an Englishman, and I don't ever want to be one. I am a Scotsman! I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/i-am-not-an-englishman-i-was-never-an-englishman-and-i-don-t-ever/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [I like women. I don't understand them, but I like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/i-like-women-i-don-t-understand-them-but-i-like-them/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [There's one major difference between James Bond and me. He is able to sort out problems!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/there-s-one-major-difference-between-james-bond-and-me-he-is-able-to/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [My view is that to get anywhere in life you have to be anti-social, otherwise you'll end up being devoured. I've never been particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/my-view-is-that-to-get-anywhere-in-life-you-have-to-be-anti-social/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [Your background and environment is with you for life. No question about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/your-background-and-environment-is-with-you-for-life-no-question/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [Sometimes a woman just needs to be slapped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/sometimes-a-woman-just-needs-to-be-slapped/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [If you have to resort to violence, you've already lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/if-you-have-to-resort-to-violence-you-ve-already-lost/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [I'm an actor - it's not brain surgery. If I do my job right, people won't ask for their money back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/i-m-an-actor-it-s-not-brain-surgery-if-i-do-my-job-right-people-won-t/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [If anything could have pulled me out of retirement, it would have been an Indiana Jones film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/if-anything-could-have-pulled-me-out-of-retirement-it-would-have-been/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [“A book fell on my head. I can only blame my shelf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/a-book-fell-on-my-head-i-can-only-blame-my-shelf/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [There is nothing like a challenge to bring out the best in man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/there-is-nothing-like-a-challenge-to-bring-out-the-best-in-man/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [I've never kept a record of anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/i-ve-never-kept-a-record-of-anything/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) > [I unfortunately don't speak French, but my wife is now fluent in English, which really reflects rather badly on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/i-unfortunately-don-t-speak-french-but-my-wife-is-now-fluent-in/) [Sean Connery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) [Explore all 100 Sean Connery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/) ## More Mankind quotes > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Because I have confidence in the power of truth, and of the spirit, I have confidence in the future of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/because-i-have-confidence-in-the-power-of-truth-and-of-the-spirit-i/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [The temptations of God were always more dangerous for mankind than those of Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-temptations-of-god-were-always-more-dangerous-for-mankind-than/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/) [Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/) > [My dreams were always small and puny. All I ever needed was a little house with a little picket fence by the sea. Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imelda-marcos/my-dreams-were-always-small-and-puny-all-i-ever-needed-was-a-little/) [Imelda Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imelda-marcos/) > [You should avoid hedging, at least that's what I think. You should be ashamed to die until you've made some contribution to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-johns/you-should-avoid-hedging-at-least-that-s-what-i-think-you-should-be/) Vernon Johns > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou ow'st the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-man-no-more-than-this-consider-him-well-thou-ow-st-the-worm-no/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [There is a way in which the collective knowledge of mankind expresses itself, for the finite individual, through mere daily living . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurens-van-der-post/there-is-a-way-in-which-the-collective-knowledge-of-mankind-expresses/) [Laurens van der Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurens-van-der-post/) [Browse all 4,668 Mankind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Either what we hold to be right and good and true IS right and good and true, for all mankind, or we're just another robber tribe.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sean Connery" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/either-what-we-hold-to-be-right-and-good-and-true-is-right-and-good/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mankind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/either-what-we-hold-to-be-right-and-good-and-true-is-right-and-good/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/sean-connery-5501_mankind_either-what-we-hold-to-be-right-and-good_904208.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/sean-connery-5501_mankind_either-what-we-hold-to-be-right-and-good_904208.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/180/sean-connery-5501_mankind_either-what-we-hold-to-be-right-and-good_904208.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Either what we hold to be right and good and true IS right and good and true, for all mankind, or we're just…” — Sean Connery", "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": "Sean Connery", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-connery/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Either what we hold to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/either-what-we-hold-to-be-right-and-good-and-true-is-right-and-good/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-connery/either-what-we-hold-to-be-right-and-good-and-true-is-right-and-good/#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 } } ] } ```