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.

Read more about Duty.

Famous quotes containing the word duty:

    There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.
    Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)

    The whole duty of government is to prevent crime and to preserve contracts.
    William Lamb Melbourne, 2nd Viscount (1779–1848)

    The abominable doctrine taught in the pulpit, the press, in books and elsewhere, is that the whole duty of women is self- abasement and self-sacrifice. I do not believe subjection is woman’s duty any more than it is the duty of a man to be under subjection to another man or many men. Women have the right of independence, of conscience, of will and of responsibility.
    Anna Howard Shaw (1847–1919)