Is virtue a thing remote? I wish to be virtuous, and lo! Virtue is at hand.

To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness.

Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men.

He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.

The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first business, and success only a subsequent consideration.

If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.

If a man remembers what is right at the sign of profit, is ready to lay down his life in the face of danger, and does not forget sentiments he has repeated all his life when he has been in straitened circumstances for a long time, he may be said to be a complete man.

The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue.

 

 

 

Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue.

I have not seen a person who loved virtue, or one who hated what was not virtuous. He who loved virtue would esteem nothing above it.

Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a man die from treading the course of virtue.

If a man withdraws his mind from the love of beauty, and applies it as sincerely to the love of the virtuous; if, in serving his parents, he can exert his utmost strength; if, in serving his prince, he can devote his life; if in his intercourse with his friends, his words are sincere – although men say that he has not learned, I will certainly say that he has.

Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.