Fathers

Quotes on fathers, male parents.

Quotes

• Since, therefore, the name of Father is a sacred one, and is transferred to men by the peculiar goodness of God, the dishonouring of parents redounds to the dishonour of God Himself, nor can any one despise his father without being guilty of an offence against God, (sacrilegium.) If any should object that there are many ungodly and wicked fathers whom their children cannot regard with honour without destroying the distinction between good and evil, the reply is easy, that the perpetual law of nature is not subverted by the sins of men; and therefore, however unworthy of honour a father may be, that he still retains, inasmuch as he is a father, his right over his children, provided it does not in anywise derogate from the judgement of God; for it is too absurd to think of absolving under any pretext the sins which are condemned by His Law; nay, it would be a base profanation to misuse the name of father for the covering of sins.
  • John Calvin, Harmony of the Law, Part III. Commentary on Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16

• Watching John with the machine, it was suddenly so clear. The Terminator would never stop. It would never leave him. It would never hurt him, never shout at him, or get drunk and hit him, or say it was too busy to spend time with him. It would always be there. And it would die to protect him. Of all the would-be fathers who came and went over the years, this thing, this machine was the only one that measured up. In an insane world, it was the sanest choice.
  • Sarah Connor, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, written by James Cameron and William Wisher Jr.

• The divine fatherhood is the source of human fatherhood. (Ephesians 3:14) This is the foundation of the honour owed to parents. ... It is required by God's commandment. (Exodus 20:12) Respect for parents (filial piety) derives from gratitude toward those who, by the gift of life, their love and their work, have brought their children into the world and enabled them to grow in stature, wisdom, and grace.
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church §§2214–2215

• As a father shows mercy to his sons, Jehovah has shown mercy to those fearing him.
  • David, Psalm 103:13, NWT

• Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
  • Exodus 20:12 (NIV)

• Our Rabbis taught: It says, 'Honour your father and your mother' (Exodus 20:12), and it says, 'Honor God with your wealth' (Proverbs 3:9). By using the same terminology, the Torah compares the honour you owe your father and mother to the honour you have to give to the Almighty. It also says, 'Every person must respect his mother and his father' (Leviticus 19:3), and it says, 'God your Lord you shall respect, Him you shall serve' (Deuteronomy 10:20). Here the same word, respect, is used. The Torah equates the respect you owe your parents with the respect you must show God. Furthermore it says, 'Whoever curses his father or mother shall be put to death' (Exodus 21:17). And furthermore it says, 'Anyone that curses God shall bear his sin' (Leviticus 24.–15). By using the same terms the Torah compares cursing of parents with cursing the Almighty.[14]
  • Talmud Kiddushin 31

• The fundamental defect of fathers is that they want their children to be a credit to them.
  • Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays (1928), Ch. 14: Freedom Versus Authority in Education.

• The place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one – particularly if he plays golf.
  • Bertrand Russell, Introduction to The New Generation (1930).

• Everything that your father says to you, you are obliged to obey. But if he says to you: "Let us bow down to idols", you must not obey him, lest you become an apostate.
  • Midrash, Yalkut Shimoni, Proverbs 960

• Just as the reward for honouring father and mother is very great, the punishment for transgressing it is very great. And the one who afflicts his parents causes the shechinah [presence of God] to separate from him and harsh decrees fall upon him and he is given many sufferings. And even if life smiles on him in this life, he will surely be punished in the World to Come.
  • Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 143:4

• Interea dulces pendent circum oscula nati,
  Casta pudicitiam servat domus.
  • His cares are eased with intervals of bliss;
    His little children, climbing for a kiss,
    Welcome their father's late return at night;
    His faithful bed is crown'd with chaste delight.
  • Virgil, Georgics (29 BC), Book II, lines 523-524 (translated by John Dryden).

• Sequiturque patrem non passibus aequis.
  • He follows his father, but not with equal steps.
  • Virgil, Aeneid (29–19 BC), Book II, line 724; of Ascanius (Aeneas's son), when escaping from burning Troy.

The Dictionary of Legal Quotations (1904)

Quotes reported in James William Norton-Kyshe, The Dictionary of Legal Quotations (1904), p. 188-189.

• Human society was so constituted, for human nature was so constituted, that the honour and dignity of a father were connected with that of a son; and there was no son who must not be disturbed and disquieted by imputations on his father.
  • Abbott, C.J., King v. Hunt (1824), 2 St. Tr. (N. S.) 100.

• The authority of a father to guide and govern the education of his child is a very sacred thing, bestowed by the Almighty, and to be sustained to the uttermost by human law. It is not to be abrogated or abridged, without the most coercive reason. For the parent and the child alike, its maintenance is essential, that their reciprocal relations may be fruitful of happiness and virtue; and no disturbing intervention should be allowed between them whilst those relations are pure and wholesome and conducive to their mutual benefit.
  • Lord O'Hagan, In re Meades (1870), 5 Ir. L. R. Eq. 103.

• As a man of the world, and speaking as a father, I am satisfied that solitary children are not so happy, and not so likely to make good men and women, as children brought up in the society of brothers and sisters in early life.
  • Jessel, M.R., In re Besant (1879), L. R. 11 0. D. 512.

• A father, by the law of God and nature, is bound to support his son, and è contra, in case the father is empoverished.
  • Wyndham, J., Manby v. Scott (1672), 1 Levinz, 4; 2 Sm. L. C. (8th ed.) 472.

• The rights of a father are sacred rights because his duties are sacred duties.
  • Brett, M.R., In re Agar-Ellis, Agar-Ellis v. Lascelles (1883), id., L. H. 24 C. D. 329.

See also

• father (religious)