Christopher Hitchens Quotes

The strength of a man's virtue should not be measured by his special exertions, but by his habitual acts.

Great and good are seldom the same man.

They err … who think that virtue consists of words .. good actions are the glory of virtue.

One of the standards on which your happiness is based, now and in your future, is moral purity.

Virtue is an inner strength. It expands your nature.

Virtue is a habit of the mind, consistent with nature and moderation and reason.

To keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts. It makes it easier to stoop the next time.

It is a grand mistake to think of being great without goodness and I pronounce it as certain that there was never a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous.

Honesty: The ability to resist small temptations.

There never was a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous.

Virtues, like essences, lose their fragrance when exposed.

Character is that quality of mind which makes truth-telling instinctive rather than strange.

Virtue is more to be feared than vice, because its excesses are not subject to the regulation of conscience.

It is almost impossible to imagine that any one could be so insensible to the high morality of Mr. Mill's character as to suggest to him any course of conduct that was not entirely upright and consistent.

Even in decline, a virtuous man increases the beauty of his behavior. A burning stick, though turned to the ground, has its flame drawn upwards.

The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it.

My pet peeve and my goal in life is to somehow get an adjective for 'integrity' in the dictionary. 'Truthful' doesn't really cover it, or 'genuine.' It should be like 'integritus.'

Virtue is the truest nobility.

Even virtue is fairer when it appears in a beautiful person.

Good men have the fewest fears. He has but one great fear who fears to do wrong; he has a thousand who has overcome it.

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.

I believe that ideal character in its perfection is potentially in every man who is born into the world.

I consider nothing low but ignorance, vice, and meanness, characteristics generally found where the animal propensities predominate over the higher sentiments.

Moderation in the pursuit of truth is no virtue. Vigilance in the defense of public ethics is no vice.

The only way to survive among the evil and corrupt is to be even more wicked and more corrupt than they are!