Quotes about Virtue

The abuse of a harmless thing is the essence of sin.

Never," said my aunt, "be mean in anything; never be false; never be cruel. Avoid those three vices, Trot, and I can always be hopeful of you.

Always do what's right. That will gratify some and surprise the rest.

Greatness is not so much a certain size as a certain quality in your life.

It is a simple tale, but its message is an enduring one: virtue and generosity will be rewarded in ways that one cannot know.

Morality itself requires transcendence, the existence of a "real" goodness.

The existence of the moral sense is a signal that there is an ought, something other than, and transcendent over, what is. We will look again at this signal when we examine how.

It is better to cherish virtue and humanity, by leaving much to free will, even with some loss to the object, than to attempt to make men mere machines and instruments of a political benevolence. The world on the whole will gain by a liberty, without which virtue cannot exist.

where there is no sound reason, there can be no real virtue.

ought to be seated on an eminence. If it be opened through virtue, let it be remembered, too, that virtue is never tried but by some difficulty and some struggle.

It is better to cherish virtue and humanity, by leaving much to free will . . . than to attempt to make men mere machines and instruments of a political benevolence.

There is no qualification for government, but virtue and wisdom, whether actual or presumptive. . . . Every thing ought to be open; but not indifferently to every man.