Samuel Smiles Quotes

Virtue is a positive quality developed by taking a firm stand for the right in temptation, or by the suffering endured in consequence of wrongdoing.

The greatest man is he who chooses the Right with invincible resolution, who resists the sorest temptations from within and without, who bears the heaviest burdens cheerfully, who is calmest in storms and most fearless under menace and frowns, whose reliance on truth, on virtue, on God, is most unfaltering. I believe this greatness to be most common among the multitude, whose names are never heard.

Courage is not always about action. It takes courage to do nothing rather than do something that you do not believe in or understand.

Virtue is a state of war, and to live in it we have always to combat with ourselves.

Man seems to be capable of great virtues but not of small virtues; capable of defying his torturer but not of keeping his temper.

Do you really think it is weakness that yields to temptation? I tell you that there are terrible temptations which it requires strength, strength and courage to yield to.

To be a hero or a heroine, one must give an order to oneself.

Patience, that blending of moral courage with physical timidity

The finest victory is to conquer one's own heart.

Self-Conquest is the greatest of victories. Mighty is he who conquers himself.

Is any one able for one day to apply his strength to virtue? I have not seen the case in which his strength would be sufficient.

Do not feel lonely on the road of righteousness Because of the fewness of the walkers on it.

The brave man is not only he who overcomes the enemy, but he who is stronger than pleasures.

Courage, the footstool of the Virtues, upon which they stand.

Grandeur of character lies wholly in force of soul, that is, in the force of thought, moral principle, and love, and this may be found in the humblest condition of life.

Virtue is an inner strength. It expands your nature.

I can tell you character traits I admire and work to develop in myself - perseverance, self-discipline, courage to stand up for what is right even when it is against one's friends or one's self.

A man has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so.

It is good to be without vices, but it is not good to be without temptations.

We make ourselves a ladder out of our vices if we trample the vices themselves underfoot.

Nobody should trust their virtue with necessity, the force of which is never known till it is felt, and it is therefore one of the first duties to avoid the temptation of it.

It is certain that, because the negligent do not struggle against self, they never achieve peace of soul or do so tardily, and never possess any virtue in its fullness, while the energetic and industrious make notable advances on both fronts.

Nor is it the least advantage to health, accruing from such a way of life, that it expose those who follow it to fewer temptations to vice, than persons who live in crowded society.

The deadliest foe to virtue would be complete self-knowledge.

The man of virtuous soul commands not, nor obeys.