Intent Quotes

I must be cruel, only to be kind.

If you don't have malice in our heart, it doesn't come across harsh.

Never draw a gun on a man unless you intend to kill him. And believe me, if you do intend to kill him he will already know it. Then he will feel the cold breath of the tomb.

In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.

Tush! Fear not, my lord, we will not stand to prate; Talkers are no good doers: be assured We come to use our hands and not our tongues.

The woman who truly intends to live a good life is already living phenomenally since intent is part of the achievement.

[T]he true key for the construction of everything doubtful in a law is the intention of the law-makers. This is most safely gathered from the words, but may be sought also in extraneous circumstances provided they do not contradict the express words of the law.

A gentleman never offends unintentionally

I will not just live my life. I will not just spend my life. I will invest my life.

I never intended to make art.

It is my dominant intent to be good to me.

The very firstlings of my heart shall be The firstlings of my hand.

By setting our motivation strongly in the morning when our mind is fresh and clear, we are much more likely to remember it during the day and act with that intention

My purpose is, indeed, a horse of that color.

The purpose of all opprobrious language is, not to describe, but to hurt - even when, like Hamlet, we make only the shadow-passes of a soliloquised combat. We call the enemy not what we think he is but what we think he would least like to be called.

An action, to have moral worth, must be done from duty.

The arms are fair, When the intent of bearing them is just.

I don't mean to be funny.

Today, no matter where I am going, no matter what I am doing, it is my dominant intent to be good to me.

I try to catch them right on the tip of his nose, because I try to punch the bone into the brain.

The only thing that is good without qualification is a good will.

If you will let your dominant intention be to revise and improve the content of the story you tell every day of your life, it is our absolute promise to you that your life will become that ever-improving story.

Whatever I do is out of love.

Teeth hadst thou in thy head when thou wast born,To signify thou camest to bite the world.

The measure of action is the sentiment from which it proceeds. The greatest action may easily be one of the most private circumstance.

Every punch was thrown with bad intentions.

The State is a poor, good beast who means the best: it means friendly.

Laws should be interpreted in a liberal sense so that their intention may be preserved.

Do all things with love.

An action is essentially good if the motive of the agent be good, regardless of the consequences.

I have sworn with my tongue, but my mind is unsworn.[Lat., Juravi lingua, mentem injuratem gero.]

Half of what I say is meaningless; but I say it so that the other half may reach you.

One of these days I'm going to put my body where my mind is.

A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally.

Either I do not corrupt the young or, if I do, it is unwillingly.

Each of our acts makes a statement as to our purpose.

My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent.

As Charles Lamb says, there is nothing so nice as doing good by stealth and being found out by accident, so I now say it is even nicer to make heroic decisions and to be prevented by 'circumstances beyond your control' from ever trying to execute them.

Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it just to reach you.

Intent and service-that is my motto.

We do what we must, and call it by the best names we can, and would fain have the praise of having intended the result which ensues.

If peace is really what you want, then you will choose peace.

The simplest and most psychologically satisfying explanation of any observed phenomenon is that it happened that way because someone wanted it to happen that way.

It is the state of mind of the person wielding the instrument that determines to what end it will be put.