--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All endeavors which are directed to a…" description: "\"All endeavors which are directed to a purely worldly end, contain within themselves the seeds of their own corruption.\" — Theodore H White" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/theodore-h-white-2-79087_corruption_all-endeavors-which-are-directed-to-a-pu_132080.jpg" --- # All endeavors which are directed to a purely worldly end… ![“All endeavors which are directed to a purely worldly end, contain within themselves the seeds of their own corruption.” quote by Theodore H White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/theodore-h-white-2-79087_corruption_all-endeavors-which-are-directed-to-a-pu_132080.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/theodore-h-white-2-79087_corruption_all-endeavors-which-are-directed-to-a-pu_132080.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/theodore-h-white-2-79087_corruption_all-endeavors-which-are-directed-to-a-pu_132080.jpg) > “All endeavors which are directed to a purely worldly end, contain within themselves the seeds of their own corruption.” Theodore H White ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursuing purely material goals can lead to moral decay. **In simple terms:** Worldly aims may corrupt themselves. Key Takeaway Seek purpose beyond material gain. Themes ethics ambition corruption purpose Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - business decisions - political campaigns - personal ambition Key Concepts moral philosophy human nature Questions to Reflect On - What values guide your actions beyond profit? - How can you balance success with ethical standards? A Different Perspective Material focus can erode integrity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption/) [Endeavors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endeavors/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) ## Related quotes > [...All endeavours which are directed to a purely worldly end...contain within themselves the germs of their own corruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-endeavours-which-are-directed-to-a-purely-worldly-end-contain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One had sown the seeds of corruption, and the other watered and nurtured it. Both the TDP and Congress have played their bit in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiranjeevi/one-had-sown-the-seeds-of-corruption-and-the-other-watered-and/) [Chiranjeevi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiranjeevi/) > [My endeavors Have ever come too short of my desires. Yet filed with my abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-endeavors-have-ever-come-too-short-of-my-desires-yet-filed-with-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner's fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/in-the-pain-the-agony-and-the-heroic-endeavors-of-life-we-pass/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) > [“World peace, true love, and happily-ever-afters amount to wasted wishes, failed endeavors, and most precious dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/world-peace-true-love-and-happily-ever-afters-amount-to-wasted-wishes/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Endeavor for greatness, venture for the sake of the heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nad-ge-richards/endeavor-for-greatness-venture-for-the-sake-of-the-heart/) [Nadege Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nad-ge-richards/) > [I think that when you decide to dedicate yourself to creative endeavors and surround yourself with people who are creative, you very quickly learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-isaac/i-think-that-when-you-decide-to-dedicate-yourself-to-creative/) [Oscar Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-isaac/) > [Creative Endeavors are by their nature uncertain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/creative-endeavors-are-by-their-nature-uncertain/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Too often in Washington we tend to see foreign policy as an abstraction, with little understanding of what we are committing our country to:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/too-often-in-washington-we-tend-to-see-foreign-policy-as-an/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [Godzilla. The big, green G-man has had a profound influence on my creative endeavors and imagination since I was blueberry-avoiding kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-robinson/godzilla-the-big-green-g-man-has-had-a-profound-influence-on-my/) [Jeremy Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-robinson/) > [“It is in the pursuits for the good of humanity and through purposeful deeds and endeavors that you own your power and soar to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/it-is-in-the-pursuits-for-the-good-of-humanity-and-through-purposeful/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/creativity-and-artistic-endeavors-have-a-mission-that-goes-far-beyond/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [But there are important calls to both my personal life and professional endeavors about which I am excited to pursue, including projects and initiatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-jacobi/but-there-are-important-calls-to-both-my-personal-life-and/) Joe Jacobi > [We all take from our artistic endeavors what we as individuals need, to make the process unique and fulfilling to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-weston/we-all-take-from-our-artistic-endeavors-what-we-as-individuals-need/) [Kim Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-weston/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by Theodore H White > [Don't ever let anybody teach you to think; it is the curse of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-h-white-2/don-t-ever-let-anybody-teach-you-to-think-it-is-the-curse-of-the-world/) Theodore H White > [The world is beautiful if you are beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-h-white-2/the-world-is-beautiful-if-you-are-beautiful/) Theodore H White Explore all 3 Theodore H White quotes ## More Corruption quotes > [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [In the lead up to the Iraq war and its later conduct, I saw at a minimum, true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility, at worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-zinni/in-the-lead-up-to-the-iraq-war-and-its-later-conduct-i-saw-at-a/) [Anthony Zinni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-zinni/) > [“Don't let cycles of violent crimes, uncontrollable, rising cases of bloody impunity, evil puppets in a crippled judiciary, marionettes in a corrupted legislative system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-hopes/don-t-let-cycles-of-violent-crimes-uncontrollable-rising-cases-of/) [Angelica Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-hopes/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [My aim was to make money for the bank. You lose track of the amounts involved when you are engaged in this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kerviel/my-aim-was-to-make-money-for-the-bank-you-lose-track-of-the-amounts/) [Jerome Kerviel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kerviel/) > [Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atifete-jahjaga/democracy-must-be-built-through-open-societies-that-share-information/) [Atifete Jahjaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atifete-jahjaga/) > [As you fight corruption, it fights back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yemi-osinbajo/as-you-fight-corruption-it-fights-back/) [Yemi Osinbajo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yemi-osinbajo/) > [Selfishness is one of the principal fruits of the corruption of human nature; and it is obvious that selfishness disposes us to over-rate our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wilberforce/selfishness-is-one-of-the-principal-fruits-of-the-corruption-of-human/) [William Wilberforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wilberforce/) > [ Corruption could lead to the collapse of the Party \[Communist Party of China\] and the downfall of the state \[People's Republic of China\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xi-jinping/corruption-could-lead-to-the-collapse-of-the-party-communist-party-of/) [Xi Jinping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xi-jinping/) > [“Oh where is the noble face of modesty, or the strength of virtue, now that blasphemy is in power and men have put justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/oh-where-is-the-noble-face-of-modesty-or-the-strength-of-virtue-now/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [I can say across Europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-say-across-europe-that-many-principles-that-have-been-taken-for/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The victory of Hamas is not only based on the corruption of the Palestinian Authority. Hamas has a vision and a program, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-haniyeh/the-victory-of-hamas-is-not-only-based-on-the-corruption-of-the/) [Ismail Haniyeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-haniyeh/) > [It looked incredibly credible!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-horlick/it-looked-incredibly-credible/) Nicola Horlick > [All power corrupts but some must govern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/all-power-corrupts-but-some-must-govern/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) [Browse all 2,253 Corruption quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All endeavors which are directed to a purely worldly end, contain within themselves the seeds of their own corruption.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore H White" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-h-white-2/all-endeavors-which-are-directed-to-a-purely-worldly-end-contain/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Corruption" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-h-white-2/all-endeavors-which-are-directed-to-a-purely-worldly-end-contain/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/theodore-h-white-2-79087_corruption_all-endeavors-which-are-directed-to-a-pu_132080.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/theodore-h-white-2-79087_corruption_all-endeavors-which-are-directed-to-a-pu_132080.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/014/theodore-h-white-2-79087_corruption_all-endeavors-which-are-directed-to-a-pu_132080.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All endeavors which are directed to a purely worldly end, contain within themselves the seeds of their own…” — Theodore H White", "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": "Theodore H White", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-h-white-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All endeavors which are directed to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-h-white-2/all-endeavors-which-are-directed-to-a-purely-worldly-end-contain/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-h-white-2/all-endeavors-which-are-directed-to-a-purely-worldly-end-contain/#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 } } ] } ```