Quotes about Virtue

St. Thomas is as practical and plain and reasonable in ethics as Aristotle, or Confucius, or your uncle.

F]or a thing to be evil, one single defect suffices, whereas for it to be good . . . it is not enough for it to be good in one point only, it must be good in every respect. . . .

For everything naturally desires good

It is significant that in most languages there is a single word for the essential virtue regarding both of these two relationships, which are the only two relationships where we cannot pay all that is owed. The word is "piety" (pietas). It means honor to both ancestors and God, the authors of our life.

If humility were not self-forgetfulness, any virtuous person would have the practical dilemma of either directing his attention to his own virtue, which naturally leads to pride, or denying it, which would be a lie.

Morality flows from metaphysics because goodness flows from God.

manifests a good person, a good character, a good habit, and also because good deeds gradually form good habits, good character, good persons.

A habit is a stable disposition to act in a certain way, good or evil. Virtues are good habits; vices are bad habits.

Socrates says we must be either fools because we think we are wise, or wise because we know we are fools. Christ says we must be either sinners who think we are saints, or saints who know we are sinners. Even

Hypocrisy, it is said, is "the tribute that vice pays to virtue.

Jesus not only kept Himself from engaging in evil, He also continually acted in ways that honored and glorified god. He not only continually avoided the negative, He always pursued the positive.

You can do more good by being good than any other way.