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Quotes about virtue

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I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. They are the real heroes, and so are the families and friends who have stood by them.
Christopher Reeve1952–2004Still Me (1999)
- Courage
All I insist on, and nothing else, is that you should show the whole world that you are not afraid. Be silent, if you choose; but when it is necessary, speak⁠—and speak in such a way that people will remember it.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart1756–1791Letter as published in The Letters of Mozart & His Family (1938) translated and edited by Emily Anderson, p. 1114.
- Courage
- Talking
Christ is with us until the world’s end. Let his little flock be bold therefore.
For if God be on our side, what matter maketh it who be against us, be they bishops, cardinals, popes, or whatsoever names they will?
William Tyndale1494–1536The Obedience of A Christian Man (1528)
- Christianity
- Courage
Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.
John Stuart Mill1806–1873Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St. Andrews, Feb. 1st 1867 (1867) p. 36.
- Good & Evil
- Responsibility
I have not yet begun to fight!
John Paul Jones1747–1792Reply when asked whether his ship had struck, Battle of Flamborough Head (23 September 1779), as recalled by his first lieutenant, Richard Dale, in John Henry Sherburne’s Life and Character of John Paul Jones (1825); Jones’s own report gives no such words
- Courage
- War & Peace
Happiness can not come to any man capable of enjoying true happiness unless it comes as the sequel to duty well and honestly done.
Theodore Roosevelt1858–1919Address at the Prize Day Exercises at Groton School (1904)
- Happiness
- Responsibility
In private life there are few beings more obnoxious than the man who is always loudly boasting; and if the boaster is not prepared to back up his words his position becomes absolutely contemptible.
Theodore Roosevelt1858–1919National Duties (Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick) (1901)
- Character
- Pride
To judge a man by his weakest link or deed is like judging the power of the ocean by one wave.
Elvis Presley1935–1977Handwritten note in his King James Bible
- Character
True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.
Arthur Ashe1943–19931991 commencement address at Ohio Wesleyan University
- Character
- Courage
It’s our insides that make us who we are, that allow us to dream and wonder and feel for others. That’s what’s essential. That’s what will always make the biggest difference in our world.
Fred Rogers1928–2003Commencement Address at Middlebury College May, 2001
- Character
I look so totally artificial, but I’ve always been the simplest person in the world.
Dolly Parton1946–2026Interview by Jancee Dunn, “Dolly Parton: At 57, the Country Legend Still Brims With Vitality”, Rolling Stone (30 October 2003)
- Character
I think that if I am smart in business, it’s just that I’m smart about who I am. I know what I can, can’t, will and won’t do, and if I have to be strict about that, I will.
Dolly Parton1946–2026Interview by Jancee Dunn, “Dolly Parton: At 57, the Country Legend Still Brims With Vitality”, Rolling Stone (30 October 2003)
- Business
- Character
Learn fortitude and toil from me, my son,
Ache of true toil. Good fortune learn from others.
Virgil70–19 BCAeneid (29–19 BC), Book XII, Lines 435–436 (tr. Robert Fitzgerald)
I have to be honest here, I’m not really interested in selling records to people who are homophobic. I don’t need the approval of people who don’t approve of me.
George Michael1963–2016Interview with Oprah Winfrey (2004), reported in Luke Henriques Gomes, “George Michael: from tortured star to pop icon”, The New Daily (December 26, 2016).
- Character
Would you believe in what you believe in if you were the only one who believed it?
Kanye Westborn 1977Thank You and You’re Welcome (2009), p.19
- Character