The Four Absolutes
Absolute Honesty
Absoulute Unselfishness
Absolute Purity
Absolute Love
The four absolutes, as we called them, were the only yardsticks we had in the early days, before the Steps. I think the absolutes still hold good and can be extremely helpful. I have found at times that a question arises, and I want to do the right thing, but the answer is not obvious. Almost always, if I measure my decision carefully by the yardsticks of absolute honesty, absolute unselfishness, absolute purity, and absolute love, and it checks up pretty well with those four, then my answer can’t be very far out of the way.
~Dr. Bob Smith
The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biographical Sketches: Their Last Major Talks
( New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.)
