It occurred to him that what had appeared perfectly impossible before, namely that he had not spent his life as he should have done, might after all be true. It occurred to him that his scarcely perceptible attempts to struggle against what was considered good by the most highly placed people, those scarcely noticeable impulses which he had immediately suppressed, might have been the real thing, and all the rest false. And his professional duties and the whole arrangement of his life and of his family, and all his social and official interests, might all have been false. He tried to defend all those things to himself and suddenly felt the weakness of what he was defending. ~ Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, ch.11
The man who attempted to retain for himself land or goods, or who fenced off a portion of the common ground and—like the modern landlord—would allow no one to till it who did not pay him a tax—was a criminal of the deepest dye. Nevertheless the criminals pushed their way to the front, and have become the respectables of modern society. ~ Edward Carpenter

Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity (such as a nation or a religion), and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected (e.g., "I have great respect for her judgment").

Quotes

  • The born leader is a fiction invented by 'born followers'. Leadership is not a gift at birth; it is an award for growing to full moral stature. It is the only prize that a man must win everyday. The prize is the respect of others, earned by the disciplines that generate self-respect.
    • Colonel Wheeler L. Baker, USMC, Ret., as quoted in The Cadence (2009), yearbook of Hargrave Military Academy, p. F
  • RESPECTABILITY, n. The offspring of a liaison between a bald head and a bank account.
  • I don't give a shit who says what. If the muthafucka is wrong, he's wrong. ... In this country, authority is a cover for wrong. I don't respect wrong and I don't respect authority that represents wrong.
  • The man who attempted to retain for himself land or goods, or who fenced off a portion of the common ground and—like the modern landlord—would allow no one to till it who did not pay him a tax—was a criminal of the deepest dye. Nevertheless the criminals pushed their way to the front, and have become the respectables of modern society.
  • We claim no respectability. There's no status I would not surrender for a joke. So we don't have to defend anything.
  • Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful!
  • Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.
  • My political ideal is democracy. Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized.
  • Do me wrong, honey, if you wanna to
    You can do me wrong honey, while I'm gone
    But all I'm asking
    Is for a little respect when I come home
    • Otis Redding, Respect (1965)
    • I ain't gonna do you wrong while you're gone
      I ain't gonna do you wrong 'cause I don't wanna
      All I'm asking is for a little respect when you come home
  • Entre los Individuos, como entre Las Naciones, El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz.
    • Translation: Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace.
    • Benito Juárez, Statement of Juárez inscribed as a Motto on the State Flag of Oaxaca, of which he was Governor from 1847 to 1853.
    • Variant translations: Among individuals as among nations, when there is respect, there is peace. Respect for the rights of others means peace.
  • To further the appreciation of culture among all the people, to increase respect for the creative individual, to widen participation by all the processes and fulfillments of art—this is one of the fascinating challenges of these days.
    • John F. Kennedy, “The Arts in America,” Look (December 18, 1962), p. 110.
  • Achte dich selbst, wenn du willst, dass andere dich achten sollen!
    • Translation: Respect yourself, if you want others to respect you.
    • Adolf Freiherr Knigge, from Über den Umgang mit Menschen.
  • Respect is the foundation of a stable way of life and the basis of a code of conduct.
    • Dame Vera Lynn, English singer, variety performer. Ch. 7, Sincerely Yours, Some Sunny Day (2009), p. 161.
  • Self-respect without the respect of others is like a jewel which will not stand the daylight.
  • He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire them in regard for himself, while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his inferiors, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.
    • John McAllister Schofield, U.S. Army lieutenant general and Medal of Honor recipient, as quoted in the October 2006 publication of Field Manual 6-22 (FM-22-100): Army Leadership by Headquarters, Department of the Army, p. 4-5
  • Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves. This, as the sages of many lands have taught us, is a golden rule in individual and group, as well as international, relations.
    • U Thant, Portfolio for Peace (1968), p. 92.
  • It occurred to him that what had appeared perfectly impossible before, namely that he had not spent his life as he should have done, might after all be true. It occurred to him that his scarcely perceptible attempts to struggle against what was considered good by the most highly placed people, those scarcely noticeable impulses which he had immediately suppressed, might have been the real thing, and all the rest false. And his professional duties and the whole arrangement of his life and of his family, and all his social and official interests, might all have been false. He tried to defend all those things to himself and suddenly felt the weakness of what he was defending.
  • The combination of these two facts — the longing in the depth of the heart for absolute good, and the power, though only latent, of directing attention and love to a reality beyond the world and of receiving good from it — constitutes a link which attaches every man without exception to that other reality.
    Whoever recognizes that reality recognizes also that link. Because of it, he holds every human being without any exception as something sacred to which he is bound to show respect.
    • Simone Weil, Draft for a Statement of Human Obligation (1943).
  • Encyclopedic article on Respect at Wikipedia
  • The dictionary definition of respect at Wiktionary
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