Duty

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:

    The first duty of a conscientious person is to have his or her conscience absolutely under his or her own control.
    Samuel Butler (1835–1902)

    [Women’s] duty is nothing else than the fulfilment [sic] of the whole moral law, the attainment of every human virtue.
    Frances Power Cobbe (1822–1904)

    Never anything can be amiss
    When simpleness and duty tender it.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)