Quotes About Virtue

Negative desires can cause no evil if you do not allow yourself to be seduced by them.

An action, to have moral worth, must be done from duty.

The virtuous soul that is alone and without a master is like a long lone burning coal; it will grow colder rather than hotter.

He that does good to another does good also to himself, not only in the consequence but in the very act. For the consciousness of well-doing is in itself ample reward.

Friendship was given by nature to be an assistant to virtue, not a companion in vice.

Unclean spirits increase the passions in us, making use of our negligence, and inciting them. But the angels decrease our passions, inciting us to the perfection of virtue.

A good man would prefer to be defeated than to defeat injustice by evil means.

If it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul.

True nobility isn't about being better than anyone else; it's about being better than you used to be.

The most virtuous are those who content themselves with being virtuous without seeking to appear so.

If your morals make you dreary, depend upon it they are wrong.

Courage becomes a worthwhile and meaningful virtue when it is regarded not so much as a willingness to die manfully but as a determination to live decently.

Generosity is the flower of justice.

Don't fear, just live right.

Moral good is a practical stimulus; it is no sooner seen than it inspires an impulse to practice.

It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.

If a man sets his heart on benevolence he will be free from evil.

There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it.

One is not called noble who harms living beings. By not harming living beings one is called noble.

There ought to be so many who are excellent, there are so few.

Virtue is its own reward.

Ambition is not a vice of little people.

Forgiveness proceeds from a generous soul.

Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.