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Quotes about virtue

884 quotes from 395 people

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Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.
Oscar Wilde1854–1900The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), Chapter VIn context
To speak frankly, I am not in favour of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other’s character before marriage, which I think is never advisable.
Oscar Wilde1854–1900The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), Third Act, spoken by Lady BracknellIn context
- Character
- Marriage
My idea of courage is the guy who has $500,000 tied up in the stock market and turns to the box scores first!
Earl Wilson1907–1987
- Courage
Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.
Woodrow Wilson1856–1924Address on American Spirit, Washington (13 July 1916)
Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.
Oprah Winfreyborn 1954Good Housekeeping
It is not by recognizing the want of courage in someone else that you acquire courage yourself..
Ludwig Wittgenstein1889–1951Culture and Value (1980), p. 44e
- Courage
It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world.
Mary Wollstonecraft1759–1797A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 4
- Charity
- Justice
The same energy of character which renders a man a daring villain would have rendered him useful to society, had that society been well organized.
Mary Wollstonecraft1759–1797Letters Written in Sweden (1796), Letter 19
- Character
Independence I have long considered as the grand blessing of life, the basis of every virtue; and independence I will ever secure by contracting my wants, though I were to live on a barren heath.
Mary Wollstonecraft1759–1797A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Dedication
- Freedom
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
John Wooden1910–2010
- Character
The strongest natures, when they are influenced, submit the most unreservedly: it is perhaps a sign of their strength.
Virginia Woolf1882–1941Books and Portraits (1977), “Thoreau”
- Character
That best portion of a good man’s life;
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
Of kindness and of love.
William Wordsworth1770–1850Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey (1798)In context
- Love
The gentleman knows that whatever is imperfect and unrefined does not deserve praise.
Xunzi313–231 BCXunzi, ch. 1, “An Exhortation to Learning”; as translated in P. J. Ivanhoe and B. W. Van Norden (eds.), Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy (2001), p. 260
- Character
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
W. B. Yeats1865–1939The Second Coming (1920)In context
- Character
- Good & Evil