Motives

Famous quotes containing the word motives:

    ... for the motives of acts
    Are rarely the same
    As their name, as their name....
    Philip Larkin (1922–1986)

    We have done scant justice to the reasonableness of cannibalism. There are in fact so many and such excellent motives possible to it that mankind has never been able to fit all of them into one universal scheme, and has accordingly contrived various diverse and contradictory systems the better to display its virtues.
    Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)

    Single mothers have as much to teach their children as married mothers and as much love to share—maybe more. Yet their motives are often labeled selfish and single-minded—never mind all the babies brought into the world to snag husbands, “save” faltering marriages or produce heirs.
    —Anne Cassidy. “Every Child Should Have a Father But....,” McCall’s (March 1985)