Quotes about virtue
884 quotes from 395 people
A great people may be killed, but they cannot be intimidated.
Napoleon1769–1821Political Aphorisms, Moral and Philosophical Thoughts (1848)There are times when the utmost daring is the height of wisdom.
Carl von Clausewitz1780–1831On War (1832), Book 2A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
Nelson Mandela1918–2013Long Walk to Freedom (1995)A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.
Joseph Joubert1754–1824The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert, tr. Paul Auster (1983)We shelter an angel within us. We must be the guardians of that angel.
Jean Cocteau1889–1963Le Coq et l’Arlequin (1918)Perhaps the only true dignity of man is his capacity to despise himself.
George Santayana1863–1952Introduction to The Ethics of Spinoza (1910)Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.
Confucius551–479 BCAnalects, Chapter IFor my part I believe in the forgiveness of sin and the redemption of ignorance.
Adlai Stevenson II1900–1965Response to a heckler asking him to state his beliefs, as quoted in Time magazine (1 November 1963)Perchance you who pronounce my sentence are in greater fear than I who receive it.
Giordano Bruno1548–1600Response to his judges on his conviction as a heretic (1600), as reported by Gaspar Schopp in a letter to Conrad RittershausenPeople who think they’re generous to a fault usually think that’s their only fault.
SHSydney J. Harris1917–1986On the Contrary (1964), Ch. 7You see, the point is that the strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.
Henrik Ibsen1828–1906An Enemy of the People (1882), Act VThe only way out of today’s misery is for people to become worthy of each other’s trust.
Albert Schweitzer1875–1965Reverence for Life (1969)People who have no weaknesses are terrible; there is no way of taking advantage of them.
Anatole France1844–1924The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard (1881), Pt. II, ch. 4Goodness is achieved not in a vacuum, but in the company of other men, attended by love.
Saul Bellow1915–2005Dangling Man (1944) [Penguin Classics, 1996, ], p. 84The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools.
Herbert Spencer1820–1903Essays: Scientific, Political, and Speculative (1891), Vol. 3, Ch. IX, State-Tamperings with Money and Banks