He possessed beauty without vanity, strength without insolence; courage without ferocity; and all the virtues of man without his vices

He possessed beauty without vanity, strength without insolence; courage without ferocity; and all the virtues of man without his vices

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

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

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?

This is the essential evil of vice, that it debases man.

This is the essential evil of vice, that it debases man.

I prefer an interesting vice to a virtue that bores

I prefer an interesting vice to a virtue that bores

The worst vice of a fanatic is his sincerity.

The worst vice of a fanatic is his sincerity.

Vice itself lost half its evil, by losing all its grossness.

Vice itself lost half its evil, by losing all its grossness.

We make a ladder for ourselves of our vices, if we trample those
same vices underfoot.
[Lat., De read more

We make a ladder for ourselves of our vices, if we trample those
same vices underfoot.
[Lat., De vitiis nostris scalam nobis facimus, si vitia ipsa
calcamus.]

We do not despise all those who have vices, but we despise all
those who have not a single read more

We do not despise all those who have vices, but we despise all
those who have not a single virtue.