Gradually Collected Quotes From Others About Morality / Ethics

"If, then, this civilization is to be saved, if it is not to be submerged by centuries of barbarism, but to secure the treasures of its inheritance on new and more stable foundations, there is indeed need for those now living fully to realize how far the decay has already progressed."

---Johan Huizinga (1872-1945), Dutch historian. In the Shadow of Tomorrow, ch. 1 (1936). Written as the clouds of WW II gathered.


"It is impossible to strive for the heroic life. The title of hero is bestowed by the survivors upon the fallen, who themselves know nothing of heroism."

---Johan Huizinga (1872-1945), Dutch historian. The Spirit of the Netherlands (1968).


"The things which can make life enjoyable remain the same. They are, now as before, reading, music, fine arts, travel, the enjoyment of nature, sports, fashion, social vanity (knightly orders, honorary offices, gatherings) and the intoxication of the senses."

---Johan Huizinga (1872-1945), Dutch historian. The Autumn of the Middle Ages, ch. 2 (1921, trans. 1995).