It is better to believe that a man does possess good qualities than to assert that he does not.
quote by John Francis Davis

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There is a strange duality in the human which makes for an ethical paradox. We have definitions of good qualities and of bad; not changing things, but generally considered good and bad throughout the ages and throughout the species. Of the good, we think always of wisdom, tolerance, kindliness, generosity, humility; and the qualities of cruelty, greed, self-interest, graspingness, and rapacity are universally considered undesirable. And yet in our structure of society, the so-called and considered good qualities are invariable concomitants of failure, while the bad ones are the cornerstones of success.
quote by John Steinbeck

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People Aren't That Dumb
Is someone who is coached to lead...
Someone needed to bolster issues of trust?
Can that person truthfully convince,
They possess leadership qualities...
To allow others to breathe easily.
And accepted as one of independence.
Without displaying a hint of incompetence?
Or will a dumbdowning done,
Implemented by everyone.
Not notice that such leadership...
Isn't what it should be,
For anyone observing...
To realize,
There is in fact..
None!
But given time such qualities will some day come!
And the person selected based on appearances...
Looks the part just to get an election won!
'That will 'never' happen.
People aren't 'that' dumb! '
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

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Almost every man wastes part of his life attempting to display qualities which he does not possess.
quote by Samuel Johnson

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Moral Rights
‘The moral rights of the author
have been asserted’… that, I’m told,
is what I should say when I write
anything for publication here; even before
I say anything..
It means, I guess, the more, the less..
than ‘Copyright’ which normally
gets printed just above it;
which just means, don’t copy this;
whereas ‘moral rights’ convey
so much more…
suggesting that I even possess morality;
which, considering my wild, undisciplined
former life, you might well question..
but note, I merely ‘assert’ them;
feel free to challenge them (you note that ‘rights’
are plural; plenty lawyer’s fees there
to say, well maybe this, not that…
and you’re free (your defending counsel may assert)
to copy my poem and put your own name to it;
since truth can be in no man’s sole possession,
and my poem, bless its metered tropes,
speaks naught but the truth..
though now I mention ‘truth’, I don’t recall
that phrase about the moral rights
upon the title-page of, let’s say,
the Gospels; Books of Moses; Qu’ran; Upanishads;
those guys on whom we’ve so long depended
to tell us what morality should be..
so please understand, that when I ‘assert’,
it’s more for my self-image than for yours;
makes me feel good; I must be
a serious author, if (in the subtext, scholars footnote)
the moral underpinning may be detected..
and that said – now to the poem.. Except
now I’ve forgotten what I was going to say..
Perhaps that, too, is a moral issue; but
I have the right to remain silent..
even if I’m up on this morality charge..
my defence is, that my Muse,
hearing the word ‘morality’,
flees my company. ’Twas ever so.
poem by Michael Shepherd

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We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess, but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects.
quote by Alexis de Tocqueville

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If a man has ten good qualities and one bad one, to look at the ten and forget the one, and if a man has ten bad qualities and one good one, to look at the one and forget the ten.
Abdul Baha in Bahai Writings

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A companion loves some agreeable qualities which a man may possess, but a friend loves the man himself.
quote by James Boswell

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While one party may possess the levers of power, one party does not possess a monopoly on good ideas. Good lawmaking, after all, is about the ability to craft effective solutions.
quote by Bill Owens

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Something of Value
You believe you have something I want.
Something of value,
I need to possess.
Those are sinister conclusions,
You wear upon your chest.
I have no interest in emptiness.
And that is all you have at best!
What I seek is something genuine.
Something one has,
That is not professed.
Qualities that are rare,
Are those I wish to share.
But they seem to be,
An impossibility.
Since many I see...
Believe themselves to be untouchable.
And being able to touch,
Is what I admire and desire much!
And you aint got that!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

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Ch 02 The Morals Of Dervishes Story 08
A great man was praised in an assembly and, his good qualities being extolled, he raised his head and said: ‘I am such as I know myself to be.’
O thou who reckonest my virtues, refrainest from giving me pain,
These are my open, and thou knowest not my hidden, qualities.
My person is, to the eyes of the world, of good aspect
But my internal wickedness makes me droop my head with shame.
The peacock is for his beauteous colours by the people
Praised whilst he is ashamed of his ugly feet.
Thunder Vision
I value qualities
I hope to cultivate
within my vision walk
I hope to trance
possess attain
without infestation
Thunder vision
flash thunders
irresistible mind song
poem by Terence George Craddock

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I think I'm an actor because I have very strong imagination and empathy. I never studied acting, but those two qualities are exactly the qualities that make for an activist.
quote by Susan Sarandon

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The chief ingredients in the composition of those qualities that gain esteem and praise, are good nature, truth, good sense, and good breeding.
quote by Joseph Addison

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Teacher: Greater than God
I love my teacher
He is loving like father
And caring like mother
He try to reveal in us the best
Of our qualities
Make us face world's realities
He is greater than the greatest
Man in the world
He can turn base metal
Into silver and gold
He is next to God
God is Creator
He is Moulder
God created clay
Teachers moulded it into idol
Beautiful with many diverse qualities
God gave life, you say
Then it is teacher
Who put a soul
In this living body
Believe it everybody
He is teacher
Who instills in us moral
Good manners and character
In us, to conquer future
He prepared us with feature
Needed for good living
Living for others
Living like brothers
poem by Shashikant Nishant Sharma

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The scoundrel has his good qualities, and the good man his weaknesses.
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos in Dangerous Liaisons (1782)

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I'm not convinced that what are traditionally considered to be male energies or qualities or female energies or qualities really have as much to do with gender as many people think they do.
quote by Andrew Cohen

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Whatever It Is That Has Them Possessed
Your children exemplify,
Some of the most atrocious behavior...
We have ever witnessed.
They are disobedient, obnoxious...
Rude and disrespectful.
And they have no regard for others. Period!
'And...
What are you saying?
My children do not possess leadership qualities? '
No!
That may be true.
However...
Whatever it is that has them possessed,
We are requesting you take them elsewhere...
To allow that possession an outlet to thrive.
But here, their behavior is not condoned.
Oh...
And here is the brick your son threw through my window.
Yesterday!
I signed and dated it for you as a reminder.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

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I start with actors that I know personally or I know their work, and there are things about their work or their presence or their own personality that make a character, that exaggerates some qualities and suppresses other qualities. It's always a real collaboration for me.
quote by Jim Jarmusch

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Einstein said, if everything exists as a substance of qualities, and qualities exist only in mind, then all is mind.
quote by Dyan Cannon

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Whatever be the qualities of the man with whom a woman is united according to the law, such qualities even she assumes, like a river, united with the ocean.
quote by Guru Nanak

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