All 10 Uses of

principle
in
The Picture of Dorian Gray - 20 chapter version

I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in the world.†
Chpt 1 *

principles = basic rules or beliefs

I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in the world.†
Chpt 1

His principles were out of date, but there was a good deal to be said for his prejudices.†
Chpt 3

He was always late on principle, his principle being that punctuality is the thief of time.†
Chpt 4

on principle = because of a basic rule or belief

He was always late on principle, his principle being that punctuality is the thief of time.†
Chpt 4

principle = basic rule or belief

She has not merely art, consummate art-instinct, in her, but she has personality also; and you have often told me that it is personalities, not principles, that move the age.†
Chpt 4

principles = basic rules or beliefs

The consequence is that he has nothing left for life but his prejudices, his principles, and his common-sense.†
Chpt 4

He sought to elaborate some new scheme of life that would have its reasoned philosophy and its ordered principles, and find in the spiritualising of the senses its highest realisation.†
Chpt 11

I believe he thinks that Monmouth married me on purely scientific principles as the best specimen he could find of a modern butterfly.†
Chpt 17

I do it on principle.†
Chpt 19

on principle = because of a basic rule or belief

Definitions:

(1) (principle)
a basic rule or belief
The exact meaning of principle can depend upon its context. For example:
- "our guiding principles" -- basic moral beliefs that guide decisions and behavior
- "electromagnetic principles" -- rules describing how the world works
- "She lacks principles." -- lacks moral guidelines
- "We agree in principle." -- about important basic beliefs
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
meaning too rare to warrant focus:

See a comprehensive dictionary for more specialized senses including one in chemistry.