Joseph Addison Quotes

It is impossible to deny that dishonest men often grow rich and famous, becoming powerful in their parish or in parliament. Their portraits grace shop windows; and they live and die respected. This success is theirs; yet it is not the success which a noble soul will envy.

If the Coastal Republic had believed in the existence of virtue, it could at least have aspired to hypocrisy.

To all the rest of his Absurdities, (for vice is always unreasonable,) he adds one more, who expects that Vertue from another which he won't practise himself.

Virtue must be valuable, if men and women of all degrees pretend to have it.

Our virtues are most frequently but vices disguised.

An ounce of hypocrisy is worth a pound of ambition.

Hypocrisy is not a way of getting back to the moral high ground. Pretending you're moral, saying your moral is not the same as acting morally.

Virtue has a veil, vice a mask.

Hypocrisy is not generally a social sin, but a virtue.

One should judge a man mainly from his depravities. Virtues can be faked. Depravities are real.

… he must deceive, misrepresent, leave false impressions … and trust to charm, loyalty and the result to make up for it…. A great man cannot be a good man.

What most men call their conscience is imaginary virtue switching left or right according to self-interest.

It is difficult to preach, this morality of mediocrity! It may never admit what it is and what it wants! It must speak about restraint and worth and duty and love of one's neighbor.

Self-denial is not a virtue; it is only the effect of prudence on rascality.

I have seen men incapable of the sciences, but never any incapable of virtue.

Every virtuous act is inspired by a dark secret.

A man may be very sincere in good principles, without having good practice.

When calling for authenticity, we need to take seriously the brokenness and sinfulness of the human heart. If to be authentic means to be who we really are or to express what we really feel, then in most cases I’m going to vote for hypocrisy. Our prisons are filled with men and women who acted on their feelings and impulses. If authenticity is about being true to yourself, these individuals should be our models of inspiration.

Evil is not interesting. What is it, chopping off someone's head? We used to do that as kids, you know, you tear up paper dolls and stuff. I know everyone's done it in the history of the world, but maybe everybody was dumb and they were just looking for something interesting to do. What's really interesting and hard is being good.

Vice deceives us when dressed in the garb of virtue.

I have yet to meet a man as fond of high moral conduct as he is of outward appearances.

After all, why be good? How many will actually believe it of us?

In the Way of Heaven, there is no partiality of love; it is always on the side of the good man.

A nation has honor precisely as it has fleas - on this or that body. The statesman who talks of honor - unless he means something else, quite different - is a rogue.