“Civilization is that mode of conduct which points out to man the path of duty. Performance of duty and observance of morality are convertible terms. To observe morality is to attain mastery over our mind and our passions. So doing, we know ourselves.”
Share this quote
Source: Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, M.K. Gandhi (1909), Ch. 13 'What is True Civilization?'.
About this quote
Progress is easy to measure by machines and cities, but here the yardstick is conduct — whether people know and do their duty. Governing your own mind rather than being governed by it isn't a side effect of a decent life; it's the doorway through which you finally meet yourself.
When to use it
- A citizen who returns a lost wallet untouched treats honesty as ordinary rather than heroic.
- An off-duty engineer reports a safety flaw she could have quietly ignored because the standard is hers to keep.
- A shopkeeper who gives correct change when a customer wouldn't notice governs himself before anyone is watching.