When statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties … they lead their country by a short route to chaos. A Man for All Seasons (1968)
Morality's not practical. Morality's a gesture. A complicated gesture learnt from books. A Man for All Seasons (1960)
When a man takes an oath, Meg, he's holding his own self in his own hands. Like water. And if he opens his fingers then — he needn't hope to find himself again. A Man for All Seasons (1966)
The law is not a "light" for you or any man to see by; the law is not an instrument of any kind. The law is a causeway upon which so long as he keeps to it a citizen may walk safely. A Man for All Seasons (1967)