Billy Bragg Quotes

Even in decline, a virtuous man increases the beauty of his behavior. A burning stick, though turned to the ground, has its flame drawn upwards.

The depth and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves. People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life, for only then do they have to fall back on their reserves.

I believe that ideal character in its perfection is potentially in every man who is born into the world.

Prosperity is a more refined and severer test of character than adversity as one hour of summer sunshine produces greater corruption than the longest winter day.

Adversity often hatches out the true nobility of character.

Innocence is not virtue. Virtue demands the active employment of an ardent mind in the promotion of the general good. No man can be eminently virtuous who is not accustomed to an extensive range of reflection.

I think all human beings can surprise themselves when they are in situations where they are tested. That's when you see your true character coming out, and I was definitely tested.

The easy, gentle, and sloping path . . . is not the path of true virtue. It demands a rough and thorny road.

The true test of a character is to face hard conditions with the determination to make them better.

One should not wish anyone disagreeable conditions of life; but for him who is involved in them by chance, they are touchstones of characters and of the most decisive value to man.

Courage is the basic virtue for everyone so long as he continues to grow, to move ahead.

"Virtue," he said. "The real thing. It's not some kind of cuddly teddy bear you can keep on the shelf until you need a hug. It's dangerous, which is why it makes people so nervous. Virtue has its own agenda, and believe me, it's not always yours. The word itself means strength, power. And when it gets loose, you'd better watch out." "Something bad might happen..." "Impossible. But possibly something painful."

When virtue has slept it will arise more vigorous.

How would I behave in a situation that caused me to summon the essence of my character? The tragedy inspired me to test myself. I wanted to reveal to myself who I was: the kind of person who died, or the kind of person who overcame circumstances to help himself and others

Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are, to some extent, a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it, piece by piece - by thought, choice, courage, and determination.

Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test.

Virtue is an inner strength. It expands your nature.

The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous.

We're always attracted to characters who are people we could identify with and yet are put through incredibly tortured or difficult circumstances - the idea being that you don't really know who you are until you've been tested or suffered in some way.

There is no better test of character than when you're tossed into crisis. That's when we see one's true colors shine through. So I try my best to make my characters personally involved in the plot, in a way that stresses them and tests them.

There is good and there is bad in every human heart, and it is the struggle of life to conquer the bad with the good.

Every child is innocent because it has not been tempted, but only when we have been tempted and have remained pure, or when we have fallen, repented and reformed, are we virtuous.

Virtue alone has majesty in death.

Virtue is persecuted more by the wicked than it is loved by the good.