Quotes on virtue
Water which is too pure has no fish.
T'an, Ts'ai Ken
He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.
Churchill, Winston
On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.
Orwell, George
The excess of virtue is a vice.
Proverb, Greek
Without enthusiasm, virtue functions not at all, and vice only poorly.
McLaughlin, Mignon
We are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke strops our vice.
Thoreau, Henry David
Virtue is praised, but hated. People run from it, for it is ice-cold and in this world you have to keep your feet warm.
Diderot, Denis
We would frequently be ashamed of our good deeds if people saw all of the motives that produced them.
Rochefoucauld, La
Any of us can achieve virtue, if by virtue we merely mean the avoidance of the vices that do not attract us.
Lynd, Robert S.
Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.
Thoreau, Henry David
Virtue would not go to such lengths if vanity did not keep her company.
Rochefoucauld, François Duc de La
Virtues are dangerous as vices insofar as they are allowed to rule over one as authorities and not as qualities one develops oneself.
Nietzsche, Friedrich
If vanity does not overthrow all our virtues, at least she makes them totter.
Rochefoucauld, François Duc de La