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Virtue Quotes

Browse 5982 quotes about Virtue.

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Virtue Quotes

“No benefit comes from a just man's prayer if he who asks for it finds more pleasure in sin than in virtue. For Samuel mourned over Saul when he sinned, but he was not able to obtain God's mercy, for his grief was not supported by the necessary change of life on the part of the sinner. Hence God put an end to the pointless grief of His servant, saying to him, 'How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?' (I Sam. 16:1).”

IfsMenLongEndsAbleChristianAsksPrayerSinPleasureGriefVirtueSeeingBenefitsMercyIsraelServantLife ChangingSinnerOrthodoxRejectedMournPointlessNecessary Change
Author:Maximus the Confessor
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“Men that are free, well-born, well-bred, and conversant in honest companies, have naturally an instinct and spur that prompteth them unto virtuous actions, and withdraws them from vice, which is called honour. Those same men, when by base subjection and constraint they are brought under and kept down, turn aside from that noble disposition, by which they formerly were inclined to virtue, to shake off and break that bond of servitude, wherein they are so tyrannously enslaved; for it is agreeable with the nature of man to long after things forbidden, and to desire what is denied us.”

MenWellsLongActionDesireTurnsBornCompanyBreakVirtueHonestHonorInstinctVicesNobleShakesHonourDeniedVirtuousDispositionForbiddenConstraintsSpursServitudeNature Of ManSubjection
Author:Francois Rabelais
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“Harvey was not content merely to gather knowledge; he digested and arranged it under the guidance of the faculties which compare and reason. ... Harvey appears to have possessed, in a remarkable degree, the power of persuading and conciliating those with whom he came in contact. In the whole course of his long life we hear nothing either of personal enemies or personal enmities ... one of the great men whom God, in virtue of his eternal laws, bids to appear on earth from time to time to enlighten, and to ennoble mankind.”

MenLongReasonWholeEarthLawCoursesEnemyVirtueMankindDegreesEternalContactCompareGuidanceGreat MenRemarkableFacultyPossessedLong LifeEnlighteningEnmityHarveyPersuading
Author:William Harvey
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“Only bad things happen quickly, . . . Virtually all the happiness-produ cing processes in our lives take time, usually a long time: learning new things, changing old behaviors, building satisfying relationships, raising children. This is why patience and determination are among life's primary virtues.”

ChildrenLongHappensProcessVirtueOur LivesBuildingBehaviorLong TimeDeterminationThings HappenPrimariesBad ThingsSatisfyingNew ThingsTake TimeThings ChangeRaising ChildrenBad Things HappenLearning NewLearning New Things
Author:Gordon Livingston
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“I suppose as long as novels last, and authors aim at interesting their public, there must always be in the story a virtuous and gallant hero; a wicked monster, his opposite; and a pretty girl, who finds a champion. Bravery and virtue conquer beauty; and vice, after seeming to triumph through a certain number of pages, is sure to be discomfited in the last volume, when justice overtakes him, and honest folks come by their own.”

LongStoriesLastsCertainGirlJusticeInterestingNumbersNovelVirtueHonestHeroPagesOppositesBraveryAimFolksVicesMonstersConquerTriumphChampionWickedVirtuousVolumeSeemingPretty GirlGallant
Book:The four Georges. The English humorists. Roundabout papers
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“Every time that a people which has long crouched in slavery and ignorance is moved to its lowest depths there appear monsters and heroes, prodigies of crime and prodigies of virtue.”

PeopleLongVirtueProgressCrimeIgnoranceHeroSlaveryMovedDepthMonstersLowestProdigies
Book:History of the Girondists: Or, Personal Memoirs of the Patriots of the French Revolution. From Unpublished Sources
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“Cruelty, very far from being a vice, is the first sentiment Nature injects in us all. The infant breaks his toy, bites his nurse's breast, strangles his canary long before he is able to reason; cruelty is stamped in animals, in whom, as I think I have said, Nature's laws are more emphatically to be read than in ourselves; cruelty exists amongst savages, so much nearer to Nature than civilized men are; absurd then to maintain cruelty is a consequence of depravity. . . . Cruelty is simply the energy in a man civilization has not yet altogether corrupted: therefore it is a virtue, not a vice.”

ThinkingMenFirstsLongSaidReasonAbleLawEnergyAnimalBreakVirtueCivilizationConsequenceVicesAbsurdCrueltyBreastsCivilizedSentimentsBitesNurseToysSavagesInfantDepravityCanaries
Author:Marquis de Sade
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“It is an exquisite and beautiful thing in our nature, that, when the heart is touched and softened by some tranquil happiness or affectionate feeling, the memory of the dead comes over it most powerfully and irresistibly. It would seem almost as though our better thoughts and sympathies were charms, in virtue of which the soul is enabled to hold some vague and mysterious intercourse with the spirits of those whom we loved in life. Alas! how often and how long may these patient angels hover around us, watching for the spell which is so soon forgotten!”

HeartMayLongSoulFeelingsSeemsBeautifulDeathSpiritMemoriesVirtueAngelPatientForgottenMysteriousCharmTouchedOver ItMost PowerfulSpellsBeautiful ThingsVagueAlasExquisiteIntercourseTranquilAffectionate
Author:Charles Dickens
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“There is that in the soul of man which must respond to the highest in virtue. It may not respond at once. Human nature can easily be over-faced by examples too remote and austere. Moreover, human nature can easily deny God because the whole race has long been in rebellion against Him. Yet there is that in human nature which calls out to the supreme examples of virtue: owns, as it were, the intention of God who made it, and feels the unmistakable homesickness of the soul.”

MenFeelsHumansMayLongMadeSoulWholeRaceVirtueHuman NatureExampleHighestIntentionDenySupremeMade ItRebellionHomesickness
Author:Bill Vaughan
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“However long the horror continued, one must not get to the stage of refusing to think about it. To shrink from direct pain was bad enough, but to shrink from vicarious pain was the ultimate cowardice. And whereas to conceal direct pain was a virtue, to conceal vicarious pain was a sin. Only by feeling it to the utmost, and by expressing it, could the rest of the world help to heal the injury which had caused it. Money, food, clothing, shelter - people could give all these and still it would not be enough; it would not absolve them from paying also, in full, the imponderable tribute of grief.”

PeopleThinkingWorldGivingLongStillsEnoughHelpingFeelingsPainSinGriefVirtueStageHorrorEmpathyDirectUltimateHealInjuryClothingsCowardiceShelterShrinksTributeVicarious
Book:A pocketful of pebbles
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“Gaze not on beauty too much, lest it blast thee; nor too long, lest it blind thee; nor too near, lest it burn thee. If thou like it, it deceives thee; if thou love it, it disturbs thee; if thou hunt after it, it destroys thee. If virtue accompany it, it is the heart's paradise; if vice associate it, it is the soul's purgatory. It is the wise man's bonfire, and the fool's furnace.”

IfsMenHeartLongSoulBeautyVirtueToo MuchWiseFoolBlindVicesTheeParadiseDeceivingAssociatesHuntsBlastAccompanyPurgatoryFurnacesBonfire
Book:Enchiridion Institutions, Essays and Maxims, political, moral & divine. Divided into four centuries. By Francis Quarles
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“Virtue will catch as well as vice by contact; and the public stock of honest manly principle will daily accumulate. We are not too nicely to scrutinize motives as long as action is irreproachable. It is enough (and for a worthy man perhaps too much) to deal out its infamy to convicted guilt and declared apostasy.”

MenWellsLongEnoughActionDealsPrinciplesVirtueToo MuchHonestGuiltVicesWorthyContactMotiveManlyInfamyScrutinizeToo NiceApostasy
Book:The Writings and Speeches of Edmund Burke: On Conciliation with America; Security of the Independence of Parliament; on Mr. Fox's East India
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“Virtue, without the graces, is like a rich diamond unpolished--it hardly looks better than a common pebble; but when the hand of the master rubs off the roughness, and forms the sides into a thousand brilliant surfaces, it is then that we acknowledge its worth, admire its beauty, and long to wear it in our bosoms.”

LooksLongHandsFormSidesCommonVirtueRichGraceMastersThousandSurfaceBrilliantAdmireAcknowledgeDiamondBosomsPebblesRoughness
Book:Aphorisms of Sir Philip Sidney: With Remarks
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“'Revelation assures us that 'righteousness exalteth a nation.' Communities are dealt with in this world by the wise and just Ruler of the Universe. He rewards or punishes them according to their general character. The diminution of public virtue is usually attended with that of public happiness, and the public liberty will not long survive the total extinction of morals.”

WorldLongCharacterUniverseNationsCommunityLibertyMoralVirtueWiseThis WorldRewardsRevelationsRighteousnessRulersExtinction
Author:Samuel Adams
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“Now I had lived long enough and had heard enough from urchins my age and from other slaves, to distrust the person who calls himself merciful, or just, or kindly. Usually these are the most cruel, niggardly and selfish people, and slaves learn to fear the master who prefaces his remarks with tributes to his own virtues.”

PeoplePersonsLongEnoughAgeVirtueHeardMastersSlaveSelfishHypocrisyDistrustRemarksTributeMercifulSelfish People
Book:I, Juan de Pareja
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“Just as a royal rule, if not a mere name, must exist by virtue of some great personal superiority in the king, so tyranny, which is the worst of governments, is necessarily the farthest removed from a well-constituted form; oligarchy is little better, for it is a long way from aristocracy, and democracy is the most tolerable of the three.”

IfsWayWellsLittlesLongGovernmentFormThreeNamesVirtueDemocracyWorstKingsMereTyrannySuperiorityRoyalLong WayAristocracyTolerableOligarchyGreat Person
Book:The Essential Aristotle
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“The predominant teachings of this age are that there are no limits to man's capacity to govern others and that, therefore, no limitations ought to be imposed upon government. The older faith, born of long ages of suffering under man's dominion over man, was that the exercise of unlimited power by men with limited minds and self-regarding prejudices is soon oppressive, reactionary, and corrupt. The older faith taught that the very condition of progress was the limitation of power to the capacity and the virtue of rulers.”

MenMindLongSelfGovernmentAgeSufferingBornVirtueProgressTeachingConditionsTaughtOughtExerciseLimitsCapacityEconomicsPrejudiceLimitationRulersUnlimitedDominionReactionariesUnlimited Power
Author:Walter Lippmann
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“Every person - whether Greek or Barbarian - who is in training for wisdom, leading a blameless, irreproachable life, chooses neither to commit injustice nor return it unto others, but to avoid the company of busybodies, and hold in contempt the places where they spend their time - courts, councils, marketplaces, assemblies - in short, every kind of meeting or reunion of thoughtless people. ... People such as these, who find their joy in virtue, celebrate a festival their whole life long.”

PeopleKindPersonsLongWholeJoyCompanyVirtueReturnTrainingCourtMeetingsInjusticeWhole LifeCommitCelebrateGreekContemptCouncilFestivalsLong LifeMarketplaceAssemblyBarbariansReunionBlamelessBusybodies
Author:Pierre Hadot
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“When I was in my early 20s I converted to Catholicism after a long period of searching. What I think drew me to the Catholic church is that in Catholicism, prayer suffuses all of one's life by virtue of the sacraments. Prayer is not something which occurs just on Sunday, it doesn't occur only at particular moments of intensity or by particular conventions, one's whole life is given up to prayer in many, many modes. And so everything to do with the faith is trying to put you in relationship with God and trying to make that relationship grow deeper and more mature.”

ThinkingTryingLongWholeMomentsLife IsGivenGrowsChurchPrayerVirtueParticularPeriodsCatholicDeeperWhole LifeSundayMatureCatholicismIntensityConventionsSacramentsGiven UpCatholic ChurchRelationship With GodEarly 20s
Author:Kevin Hart
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“No system can long command the loyalties of men and women which does not expect of them certain measures of discipline, and particularly self-discipline. The cost in comfort may be great. The sacrifice may be real. But this very demanding reality is the substance of which comes character and strength and nobility. Permissiveness never produced greatness. Integrity, loyalty, and strength are virtues whose sinews are developed through the struggles that go on within as we practice self-discipline under the demands of divinely spoken truth.”

MenMayLongDoeRealSelfCharacterRealityCertainPracticeStruggleVirtueSacrificeGreatnessGoes OnDisciplineIntegrityComfortCostDemandMen And WomenLoyaltyCommandSubstanceBeing RealSelf DisciplineNobility
Author:Gordon B. Hinckley
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“... so long as woman labors to second man's endeavors and exalt his sex above her own, her virtues pass unquestioned; but when shedares to demand rights and privileges for herself, her motives, manners, dress, personal appearance, and character are subjects for ridicule and detraction.”

MenLongCharacterSexVirtueRightsSubjectsDemandLaborDressesPrivilegeAppearanceMannersMotiveEndeavorRidiculeRights And PrivilegesPersonal Appearance
Book:Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897
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“The East is the hearthside of America. Like any home, therefore, it has the defects of its virtues. Because it is a long-lived-inhouse, it bursts its seams, is inconvenient, needs constant refurbishing. And some of the family resources have been spent. To attain the privacy that grown-up people find so desirable, Easterners live a harder life than people elsewhere. Today it is we and not the frontiersman who must be rugged to survive.”

PeopleNeedsHeartLongHas BeensHomeTodayAmericaVirtueResourcesHarderConstantEastPrivacyElsewhereDefectsDesirableInconvenientRugged
Author:Phyllis McGinley
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“Misanthropes have some admirable if paradoxical virtues. It is no exaggeration to say that we are among the nicest people you are likely to meet. Because good manners build sturdy walls, our distaste for intimacy makes us exceedingly cordial "ships that pass in the night." As long as you remain a stranger we will be your friend forever.”

PeopleIfsLongNightFriendshipForeverVirtueRelationshipWallStrangerShipsMannersIntimacyParadoxGood ManGood PeopleExceedAdmirableExaggerationFriends ForeverParadoxicalGood MannersMisanthropyNice PeopleSturdyDistasteNicenessMisanthropeCordiality
Author:Florence King
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“Virtue and vice suppose the freedom to choose between good and evil; but what can be the morals of a woman who is not even in possession of herself, who has nothing of her own, and who all her life has been trained to extricate herself from the arbitrary by ruse, from constraint by using her charms?... As long as she is subject to man's yoke or to prejudice, as long as she receives no professional education, as long as she is deprived of her civil rights, there can be no moral law for her!”

MenLongHas BeensLawEvilMoralVirtueRightsSubjectsMoralityPrejudiceVicesPossessionCivil RightsCharmGood And EvilArbitraryDeprivedConstraintsYokeMoral LawFreedom To Choose
Author:Flora Tristan
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“Guilt, though it may attain temporal splendor, can never confer real happiness; the evil consequences of our crimes long survive their commission, and, like the ghosts of the murdered, forever haunt the steps of the malefactor; while the paths of virtue, though seldom those of worldly greatness, are always those of pleasantness and peace.”

MayLongRealEvilStepsForeverVirtuePathCrimeGreatnessConsequenceGuiltGhostWorldlySplendorReal Happiness
Author:Walter Scott
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“Absolute Evil is not the kingdom of hell. The inhabitants of hell are ourselves, i.e., those who pay our painful, embarrassing, humanistic duties to society and who are compromised by our intellectually dubious commitment to virtue, which can be defined by the perpetual smear-word of French polemic: the bourgeois. (Bourgeois equals humanist.) This word has long been anathema in France where categories are part of the ruling notion of logique. The word cannot be readily matched in England or America.”

LongAmericaEvilPayHellVirtueDutyCommitmentEnglandAbsolutesNotionPainfulKingdomsDefinedFranceHumanistCategoriesPerpetualEmbarrassingRulingBourgeoisMatchedDubiousHumanisticAnathemaPolemics
Author:V. S. Pritchett
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“It has ever been my hobby-horse to see rising in America an empire of liberty, and a prospect of two or three hundred millions of freemen, without one noble or one king among them. You say it is impossible. If I should agree with you in this, I would still say, let us try the experiment, and preserve our equality as long as we can. A better system of education for the common people might preserve them long from such artificial inequalities as are prejudicial to society, by confounding the natural distinctions of right and wrong, virtue and vice.”

PeopleIfsShouldTryingLongStillsTwoMightAmericaThreeNaturalFreedomCommonLibertyMillionsVirtueImpossibleKingsHundredHorseAgreeVicesNobleExperimentsInequalityPreservesRisingDistinctionEmpiresArtificialHobbiesFreemanConfounding
Book:Works: with a life of the author
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