When wise men grow virtuous in their old age, they only make a sacrifice to God of the devil’s leavings. Alexander Pope, Miscellanies, 1727
Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder. George Washington
Virtue does not come from money, but from virtue comes money and all other good things to man, both to the individual and to the state. Socrates
Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues. F Scott Fitzgerald
Virtue knows to a farthing what it has lost by not having been vice. Horace Walpole
More people are flattered into virtue than bullied out of vice. R S Surtees
It is always one’s virtues and not one’s vices that precipitate one into disaster. Rebecca West, There is No Conversation, 1935
A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example. Niccolo Machiavelli
The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature. Marcus Aurelius
Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows. Robert G Ingersoll
Great virtues may draw attention from defects, they cannot sanctify them. A pebble surrounded by diamonds remains a common stone, and a diamond surrounded by pebbles is still a gem. Robert G Ingersoll, The Great Infidels
Virtue can only flourish among equals. Mary Wollstonecraft
A tragic situation exists precisely when virtue does not triumph but when it is still felt that man is nobler than the forces which destroy him. George Orwell
I hate purity. Hate goodness. I don’t want virtue to exist anywhere. I want everyone corrupt. 1984 1984 starring John Hurt & Richard Burton & Gregor Fisher & Suzanna Hamilton & Cyril Cusack & James Walker & Andrew Wilde & Corina Seddon & Rupert Baderman & John Boswall & Phyllis Logan et al, director Michael Radford, him to her
Recommend virtue to your children; it alone, not money, can make them happy. I speak from experience. Ludwig van Beethoven
The person who talks most of his own virtue is often the least virtuous. Jawaharlal Nehru
The strength of a man’s virtue should not be measured by his special exertions, but by his habitual acts. Blaise Pascal
Who sows virtue reaps honour. Leonardo da Vinci
Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience. Adam Smith
Virtue is something you have to get good at, like playing the trombone or tolerating bores at parties. Being a virtuous human being takes practice; and those who are brilliant at being human (what Christians call the saints) are the virtuosi of the moral sphere – the Pavarottis and Maradonas of virtue. Terry Eagleton
In order to know virtue, we must first acquaint ourselves with vice. Marquis de Sade
Happiness lies neither in vice nor in virtue; but in the manner we appreciate the one and the other, and the choice we make pursuant to our individual organization. Marquis de Sade
I always admired virtue – but I could never imitate it. Charles II
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. Aristotle
All virtue is summed up in dealing justly. Aristotle
Search others for their virtue, and yourself for your vices. R Buckminster Fuller
The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue. Confucius
When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary. Thomas Paine
Virtue is its own reward, and brings with it the truest and highest pleasure; but if we cultivate it only for pleasure’s sake, we are selfish, not religious, and will never gain the pleasure, because we can never have the virtue. John Henry Newman
Modesty is a vastly overrated virtue. John Kenneth Galbraith
What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of forty is simply a loss of energy. Voltaire
Virtue consists, not in abstaining from vice, but in not desiring it. George Bernard Shaw
Virtue has its own reward, but no sale at the box office. Mae West
Honour is the reward of virtue. Marcus Tullius Cicero
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. Cicero
Every day confirms my opinion on the superiority of a vicious life – and if Virtue is not its own reward I don’t know any other stipend annexed to it. Lord Byron
In England the only homage which they pay to Virtue – is hypocrisy. Lord Byron
No man can purchase his virtue too dear, for it is the only thing whose value must ever increase with the price it has cost us. Our integrity is never worth so much as when we have parted with our all to keep it. Ovid
The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues. Elizabeth Taylor
The virtuous man contents himself with dreaming that which the wicked man does in actual life. Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams
Don’t be led astray into the paths of virtue. Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan
Virtue has more admirers than followers. Norman MacDonald, Maxims and Moral Reflections
He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire. Winston Churchill, re Stafford Cripps, 9th February 2015
Was man, indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous and magnificent, yet so vicious and base? He appeared at one time a mere scion of the evil principle and at another as all that can be conceived of noble and godlike. To be a great and virtuous man appeared the highest honour that can befall a sensitive being; to be base and vicious, as many on record have been, appeared the lowest degradation, a condition more abject than that of the blind mole or harmless worm. For a long time I could not conceive how one man could go forth to murder his fellow, or even why there were laws and governments; but when I heard details of vice and bloodshed, my wonder ceased and I turned away with disgust and loathing. Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Our virtues are most often but our vices disguised. François de la Rochefoucauld
Wickedness is the root of despotism as virtue is the essence of the Republic. Maximilien Robespierre 7th May 1794
Intimidation without virtue is disastrous; virtue without intimidation is powerless. Maximilien Robespierre