Duty
Duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; Old French: deu, did, past participle of devoir; Latin: debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment or obligation to someone or something. The moral commitment should result in action; it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition. When someone recognizes a duty, that person theoretically commits themself to its fulfillment without considering their own self-interest. This is not to suggest that living a life of duty entirely precludes a life of leisure; however, its fulfilment generally involves some sacrifice of immediate self-interest. Typically, "the demands of justice, honor, and reputation are deeply bound up" with duty.
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Famous quotes containing the word duty:
“‘Tis a sort of duty to be rich, that it may be in one’s power to do good, riches being another word for power.”
—Mary Wortley, Lady Montagu (1689–1762)
“The whole duty of man consists in being reasonable and just.... I am reasonable because I know the difference between understanding and not understanding and I am just because I have no opinion about things I I don’t understand.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“We live in a world which is full of misery and ignorance, and the plain duty of each and all of us is to try to make the little corner he can influence somewhat less miserable and somewhat less ignorant than it was when he entered it.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)