Virtue, I grant you, is an empty boast;
But shall the dignity of vice be lost?

Virtue, I grant you, is an empty boast;
But shall the dignity of vice be lost?

We are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke straps our vice.

We are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke straps our vice.

The vices we scoff at in others, laugh at us within ourselves.

The vices we scoff at in others, laugh at us within ourselves.

Every vice is only an exaggeration of a necessary and virtuous function.

Every vice is only an exaggeration of a necessary and virtuous function.

There is no vice so simple but assumes
Some mark of virtue on his outward parts.

There is no vice so simple but assumes
Some mark of virtue on his outward parts.

He hadn't a single redeeming vice.

He hadn't a single redeeming vice.

The heart resolves this matter in a trice,
"Men only feel the smart, but not the vice."

The heart resolves this matter in a trice,
"Men only feel the smart, but not the vice."

Vice gets more in this vicious world
Than piety.

Vice gets more in this vicious world
Than piety.

Vices are often habits rather than passions.

Vices are often habits rather than passions.