Virtue consists, not in abstaining from vice, but in not desiring it.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- True virtue is not just avoiding bad actions but lacking the desire to commit them.
- In plain terms
- Being good means not wanting to do bad things, not just avoiding them.
- What can you take from it?
- Internal desire matters more than external restraint.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is restraint enough for virtue?
- Can we change our desires?
Another view
Achieving a desire for virtue is difficult for most people.
More from George Bernard Shaw
If you strike a child, take care that you strike it in anger, even at the risk of maiming it for life. A blow in cold blood neither can nor should be forgiven.
Permalink to quote #116 Lack of money is the root of all evil.
Permalink to quote #118 Marriage is popular because it combines the maximum of temptation with the maximum of opportunity.
Permalink to quote #115
Related quotes
Character is the entity, the individuality of the person, shining from every window of the soul, either as a beam of purity, or as a clouded ray that betrays t…
William Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings Bryan quote #12 Self-respect is the cornerstone of all virtue.
John HerschelJohn Herschel quote #8 In a certain sense the Good is comfortless.
Franz KafkaFranz Kafka quote #20