Quote

It is the mind that maketh good of ill, that maketh wretch or happy, rich or poor.

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.

There is a set of religious, or rather moral, writings which teach that virtue is the certain road to happiness, and vice to misery in this world. A very wholesome and comfortable doctrine, and to which we have but one objection, namely, that it is not true.

Virtue is its own reward. We only invented concepts like heaven and hell to describe how we feel. We don't feel good doing bad and it's nice to help someone.

Every evil is a sickness of soul, but virtue offers the cause of its health.

To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves. Nothing is often a good thing to say, and always a clever thing to say.

The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil.

We deem those happy who from the experience of life have learnt to bear its ills without being overcome by them.

Many people think that virtue consists of severity towards others.