Quotes About Virtue

The glory of riches and of beauty is frail and transitory; virtue remains bright and eternal. [Lat., Divitarum et formae gloria fluxa atque fragilis; virtus clara aeternaque habetur.]

The desire which urges us to deserve praise strengthens our good qualities, and praise given to wit, valour, and beauty, tends to increase them.

Beauty is part of the finished language by which goodness speaks.

Moral grounds are always the last refuge of people who have no sense of beauty.

Humility is the best dress you can wear

Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence

Wisdom denotes the pursuing of the best ends by the best means.

As the wicked are hurt by the best things, so the godly are bettered by the worst.

The best way to avoid a bad action is by doing a good one, for there is no difficulty in the world like that of trying to do nothing.

Those who excel in virtue have the best right of all to rebel, but then they are of all men the least inclined to do so.

Moral power is probably best when it is not used. The less you use it the more you have.

A good deed is the best prayer.

A benefit consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer.

Hire character. Train skill.

Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.

You know something? I'm decent! There isn't a great deal of decency in the world, especially in our business, and I'm one of the few really decent ladies around.

But if you do not have the Tao yourself, what business have you spending your time in vain efforts to bring corrupt politicians into the right path?

Vice is a dreary business. And virtue is not a lot of fun, either.

Virtue is more clearly shown in the performance of fine ACTIONS than in the non-performance of base ones.

It is not the business of virtue to extirpate the affections of the mind, but to regulate them.

If doing what ought to be done be made the first business and success a secondary consideration--is not this the way to exalt virtue?

Wat ik het meest in mensen waardeer is de enige deugd die ze met goden en dieren gemeen hebben, en die je daarom eigenlijk geen deugd kunt noemen. Ik heb het over moed.

Thus, we find phrases such as the following in Washington's public and private writings: "A Christian Spirit," "A True Christian," "Be more of a man and a Christian," "Christian soldiers," "The little Christian," "To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian." 32

Don Light talks ... ... The Marines help teach you patience, and patience is a virtue. My old friend Les Beasley was in the Marines, too. When we first got in the Marines, they gave us these little white pills, so we wouldn't think about girls. Not long ago, Les told me that his little white pills had just started working. See, patience.