With virtue you can’t be entirely poor; without virtue you can’t really be rich.
—Chinese Proverb
Virtue craves a steep and thorny path.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
For myself, I am an optimist — it does not seem to be much use being anything else.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
People praise virtue, but they hate it, they run away from it. It freezes you to death, and in this world you’ve got to keep your feet warm.
—Denis Diderot (1713–84) French Philosopher, Writer
When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting I go ahead of it and make trial after trial until it comes.
—Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American Inventor, Scientist, Entrepreneur
Had I but served my God with half the zeal
I served my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
It is of no consequence of what parents a man is born, as long as he be a man of merit.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
Life becomes real only when we begin to face and solve our own problems. Until then we only swim in circles in a large fantasy world which tends to make us very tired of living. Don’t waste energy! Face life now!
—Unknown
Show me the man you honor, and I will know what kind of a man you are, for it shows me what your ideal of manhood is, and what kind of a man you long to be.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Virtue cannot separate itself from reality without becoming a principle of evil.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
Wickedness is always easier than virtue; for it takes the short cut to everything.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Virtue is like a rich stone, best plain set.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
No one reaches a high position without daring.
—Publilius Syrus (fl.85–43 BCE) Syrian-born Roman Latin Writer
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he who loses his courage loses all.
—Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish Novelist
Beauty is a primeval phenomenon, which itself never makes its appearance, but the reflection of which is visible in a thousand different utterances of the creative mind, and is as various as nature herself.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he isn’t. A sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is.
—Unknown
God will certainly reward virtue and punish vice, either here or hereafter.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
People who are in a fortunate position always attribute virtue to what makes them so happy.
—John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-Born American Economist
There is no wisdom save in truth. Truth is everlasting, but our ideas about truth are changeable. Only a little of the first fruits of wisdom, only a few fragments of the boundless heights, breadths and depths of truth, have I been able to gather.
—Martin Luther (1483–1546) German Protestant Theologian
If you follow only one rule, let it be this one: Be yourself. The really strong boy-girl relationships are based on what people really are, not on what they pretend to be.
—Indian Proverb
Be virtuous and you will be eccentric.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Clear conscience never fears midnight knocking.
—Chinese Proverb
A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
If you stand straight, do not fear a crooked shadow.
—Chinese Proverb
Many of us don’t have to turn out the lights to be in the dark.
—Indian Proverb
You cannot believe in honor until you have achieved it. Better keep yourself clean and bright: you are the window through which you must see the world.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Virtue has never been as respectable as money.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
—Thomas Edison (1847–1931) American Inventor, Scientist, Entrepreneur
The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
A man of courage is also full of faith.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
Positive anything is better than negative nothing.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
What is virtue but the Trade Unionism of the married?
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Of all the varieties of virtue, liberality is the most beloved.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Temperance and labor are the two best physicians of man; labor sharpens the appetite, and temperance prevents from indulging to excess.
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) Swiss-born French Philosopher
Optimism: The doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly.
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1913) American Short-story Writer, Journalist
The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacle s, discouragement s, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881) Scottish Historian, Essayist
Honesty is the best policy. If I lose mine honor, I lose myself.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
If you don’t like your own character there may be a new one ready-made and waiting for you. The snake sheds its skin with impunity, relying on the same nature which you rely on.
—Unknown
Of all the benefits which virtue confers on us, the contempt of death is one of the greatest.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
Virtuous and vicious everyone must be; few in extremes, but all in degree.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
That virtue we appreciate is as much ours as another s. We see so much only as we possess.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Virtue is the only true nobility.
—Thomas Fuller (1608–61) English Cleric, Historian
Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) American Head of State