Quotes about virtue
884 quotes from 395 people
J. M. Barrie1860–1937The Little White Bird (1902), Ch. 4Now will I show myself to have more of the serpent than the dove; that is, more knave than fool.
Christopher Marlowe1564–1593The Jew of Malta (c. 1589)
Jack London1876–1916“Confession” in Complete Works of Jack London, Delphi Classics, (2013)A sword by itself does not slay; it is merely the weapon used by the slayer.
Seneca the Younger5 BC–AD 65Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius), Letter LXXXVII: Some arguments in favor of the simple life, Line 30- Seneca the Younger5 BC–AD 65De Ira (On Anger); Book III, Chapter V
Matthew Arnold1822–1888Culture and Anarchy (1869), Ch. I, Sweetness and Light
Thomas Jefferson1743–1826The Declaration of Independence (1776), Declaration of Independence (1776)In context
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu1689–1762“The Lady’s Resolve” (1713)The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part I have saved my life.
Jesus7 BC–AD 30Acts 20:35bHe that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Julian of Norwich1342–1416Revelations of Divine Love, Sixteenth Revelation, Ch. 84
Nassim Nicholas Talebborn 1960The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010), p. 94A leader must have the courage to act against an expert’s advice.
James Callaghan1912–2005The Harvard Business Review (1 November 1986)Gold is a living god and rules in scorn,
All earthly things but virtue.
Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822Queen Mab (1813), Canto V
