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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us.

The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us.

Vices are often habits rather than passions.

Vices are often habits rather than passions.

I prefer an interesting vice to a virtue that bores

I prefer an interesting vice to a virtue that bores

Music is the only sensual pleasure without vice

Music is the only sensual pleasure without vice

Nurse one vice in your bosom. Give it the attention it deserves and let your virtues spring p modestly around read more

Nurse one vice in your bosom. Give it the attention it deserves and let your virtues spring p modestly around it. Then you'll have the miser who's no liar; and the drunkard who's the benefactor of the whole city.