Nobody ever did anything very foolish except from some strong principle. Lord Melbourne (William Lamb)
You can’t learn too soon that the most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency. W. Somerset Maugham
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. Dwight D Eisenhower
When you say that you agree with a thing in principle you mean that you have not the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice. Otto von Bismarck
It is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them. Alfred Adler
In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current. Thomas Jefferson
When a fellow says, ‘It ain’t the money but the principle of the thing,’ it’s the money. Kin Hubbard
Those are my principles. If you don’t like them I have others. Groucho Marx
One thing I certainly never was made for, and that is to put principles on and off at the dictation of a party, as a lackey changes his livery at his master’s command. Horace Mann
Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. John Adams
Man tends to treat all his opinions as principles. Herbert Agar
It’s easy to have principles when you’re rich. The important thing is to have principles when you’re poor. Ray Kroc