Alexis Carrel Quotes

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

To many people virtue consists chiefly in repenting faults, not in avoiding them.

There is no greater wealth than Virtue,And no greater loss than to forget it.

Virtue, though she gets her beginning from nature, yet receives her finishing touches from learning.

There is no royal road or ready way to virtue.

To know what virtue is is not enough; we must endeavor to possess and to practice it, or in some other manner actually ourselves to become good.

It is not enough merely possess virtue, as if it were an art; it should be practiced.

Virtue does not come from wealth, but wealth, and every other good thing which men have comes from virtue.

Character is in turn the enduring source of virtue. It stands by itself and excites admiration in others. It is not obedience to authority, and while it is often consistent with and reinforced by religious belief, it is not piety.

Is not virtue a negation of becoming?

Humility is the mother of all virtues: the humble in spirit progress and are blessed because they willingly submit to higher powers and try to live in harmony with natural laws and universal principles. Courage is the father of all virtues; we need great courage to lead our lives by correct principles and to have integrity in the moment of choice.

Nothing of character is really permanent but virtue and personal worth.

May your mind be thoroughly impressed with the absolute necessity of universal virtue and goodness, as the only sure road to happiness, and may you walk therein with undeviating steps.

Mercy can purge the soul of sin, making room for a fresh start. Truth is vital in order that we have an unvarying standard by which to determine what we are to be and to do and what we are to rid ourselves of. All the cardinal virtues, therefore, carry their own intrinsic as well as outward reward. A merciful man does do good to his own soul.

The absence of vices adds so little to the sum of one's virtues.

The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world, is to be in reality what we would appear to be, all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice and experience of them.

There is but one pursuit in life which it is in the power of all to follow, and of all to attain. It is subject to no disappointments, since he that perseveres, makes every difficulty an advancement, and every contest a victory; and this is the pursuit of virtue.

Virture offers the only path in this life that leads to tranquility.

People are either good or they're not. Religion doesn't make anybody good, I don't think.

Ethics is the activity of man directed to secure the inner perfection of his own personality.

If you do not know the laws of right conduct, you cannot form your character.

To be good, we must do good; and by doing good we take a sure means of being good, as the use and exercise of the muscles increase their power.

Respect for self is the beginning of cultivating virtue in men and women.

Virtue comes by nature, learning, and practice, and thanks to virtue, all of the aforesaid may deserve approval.

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.