Top 142 Precept Quotes & Sayings

The right of holding slaves is clearly established in the Holy Scriptures, both by precept and example.

The path of precept is long, that of example short and effectual.

The fundamental precept of liberty is toleration.

This is the precept by which I have lived: Prepare for the worst; expect the best; and take what comes.

Example is always more efficacious than precept.

Learning to fully understand the doctrines of the gospel is a process of a lifetime and comes 'line upon line, precept upon precept.

Where one person shapes their life by precept and example, there are a thousand who have shaped it by impulse and circumstances.

Hail, high Excess especially in wine, To thee in worship do I bend the knee Who preach abstemiousness unto me My skull thy pulpit, as my paunch thy shrine. Precept on precept, aye, and line on line, Could ne'er persuade so sweetly to agree With reason as thy touch, exact and free, Upon my forehead and along my spine. At thy command eschewing pleasure's cup, With the hot grape I warm no more my wit; When on thy stool of penitence I sit I'm quite converted, for I can't get up. Ungrateful he who afterward would falter To make new sacrifices at thine altar!

Whenever there is a conflict between precept and example, the latter wins because deeds speak louder than our words.

Keep in mind God's precept that states, 'Judge not, and you will not be judged' (Lk. 6:37), and in no way meddle in the lives of others.

I have only one moral precept; never smoke more than five cigars at a time.

Example is the best precept.

Men trust their eyes rather than their ears; the road by precept is long and tedious, by example short and effectual.

Wherever any precept of traditional morality is simply challenged to produce its credentials, as though the burden of proof lay on it, we have taken the wrong position.

We all know by theory that there is no permanent happiness in this life: But the weight of the precept is not felt in the same manner as when it is confirmed to us by a heavy calamity.

Example, not precept, is the best teaching aid.

Examples is more forcible than precept. People look at my six days in the week to see what I mean on the seventh.

Compulsory education... It is a painful, continual, and difficult work; to be done by kindness, by watching, by warning, by precept, and by praise, — but above all — by example.

A good example is far better than a good precept.

The most famous Obama precept is, 'No drama.'

Measures of self-precept must be tailored to the domain of psychological functioning being explored.

Being satisfied with little, you can gain much. Seeking much you will go astray. The wise heeds this precept. If it could be so with all people!

Revelation need not all come at once. It may be incremental. 'Saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more' (2 Nephi 28:30). Patience and perseverance are part of our eternal progression.

The Wright brothers committed themselves to do what no one else had ever done before. They took time to do their homework. They were humble and smart enough to appreciate and learn about the work of others who went before. And they tackled the problem line upon line, precept upon precept.

In my mind, only one inviolable precept exists in terms of being a successful writer: you have to write. The unspoken sub-laws of that one precept are: to write, you must start writing and then finish writing. And then, most likely, start writing all over again because this writing "thing" is one long and endless ride on a really weird (but pretty awesome) carousel. Cue the calliope music.

And, in fine, the ancient precept, "Know thyself," and the modern precept, "Study nature," become at last one maxim.

I cannot remember a time when the Golden Rule was not my motto and precept, the torch that guided my footsteps.

Practice the precept: find without seeking

Example is more powerful than precept.

Teaching by precept, without example, is mighty poor teaching.

There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it.

Brotherhood is an ideal better understood by example than precept!

Example is more forcible than precept. People look at my six days in the week to see what I mean on the seventh.

The central activity of leadership is teaching - first by example, second by precept.

In almost everything, experience is more valuable than precept.

In science, the best precept is to alter and exchange our ideas as fast as science moves ahead.

None of great sages of China preached the precept of love as a guideline for human behavior.

Be what you wish your children to be. Parents have perpetuated by precept and example their own stamp of character to their posterity.

The precept, "Know yourself," was not solely intended to obviate the pride of mankind; but likewise that we might understand our own worth.

An excellent precept for writers: Have a clear idea of all the phrases and expressions you need, and you will find them.

Of all the arts poetry (which owes its origin almost entirely to genius and will least be guided by precept or example) maintains the first rank.

In regard to religion, mutual toleration in the different professions thereof is what all good and candid minds in all ages have ever practiced, and both by precept and example inculcated on mankind.

The simplest and shortest ethical precept is to be served as little as possible . . . and to serve others as much as possible.

To receive all of the promised blessings, we must accept the gospel in faith and in full. However, this certain faith does not usually come all at once. We learn spiritually line upon line and precept upon precept.

Like most things of great worth, knowledge which is of eternal value comes only through personal prayer and pondering. These, joined with fasting and scripture study, will invite impressions and revelations and the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. This provides us with instruction from on high as we learn precept upon precept.

For many of us, conversion is an ongoing process and not a onetime event that results from a powerful or dramatic experience. Line upon line and precept upon precept, gradually and almost imperceptibly, our motives, our thoughts, our words, and our deeds become aligned with the will of God. Conversion unto the Lord requires both persistence and patience.

To disarm a zealot, teach him truth by precept, and mildness by example.

The simple rely on a bolstering mass of maxim and precept, so do the timid, so do the mentally lazy – and so do all of us, more than we imagine.

Precept is instruction written in the sand; the tide flows over it and the record is gone; example is graven on the rock, and the lesson is not soon lost.

This precept descended from Heaven: know thyself.

Hate the sin and not the sinner' is a precept which, though easy enough to understand, is rarely practiced, and that is why the poison of hatred spreads in the world.

The first precept was never to accept a thing as true until I knew it as such without a single doubt.

Examples draw where precept fails, and sermons are less read than tales.

The road to learning by precept is long, but by example short and effective.

The first principle from which stems the moral of about all people at all time; it is summarized in this precept: Love thy neighbour as thyself, and: do as you would be done by.

The first precept in Buddhism is "Do not kill." This precept is not merely a legalistic prohibition, but a realization of our affinity with all who share the gift of life. A compassionate heart provides a firm ground for this precept.

Example is better than precept.

I, for my part, acknowledge another precept which says that man must deal the final blow to those whose downfall is destined by God.

Know your numbers' is a fundamental precept of business.

The nation has placed its faith in the precept that all laws should be inspired by actual needs here on earth as a basic fact of national life.