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:
“Here, my dear Lucy, hide these books. Quick, quick! Fling “Peregrine Pickle” under the toilette—throw “Roderick Random” into the closet—put “The Innocent Adultery” into “The Whole Duty of Man”; thrust “Lord Aimworth” under the sofa! cram “Ovid” behind the bolster; there—put “The Man of Feeling” into your pocket. Now for them.”
—Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816)
“It is seldom very hard to do one’s duty when one knows what it is, but it is often exceedingly difficult to find this out.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“Where there are no rights, there are no duties. To tell the truth is thus a duty; but it is a duty only in respect to one who has a right to the truth.”
—Henri Benjamin Constant De Rebecque (1767–1830)