--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Virtue may choose the high or low degree…" description: "\"Virtue may choose the high or low degree, 'Tis just alike to virtue, and to me; Dwell in a monk, or light upon a king, She's still the same belov'd, co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/alexander-pope-235_character_virtue-may-choose-the-high-or-low-degree_2363891.png" --- # Virtue may choose the high or low degree, 'Tis just alike… ![“Virtue may choose the high or low degree, 'Tis just alike to virtue, and to me; Dwell in a monk, or light upon a king, She's still the same belov'd, contented thing.” quote by Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/alexander-pope-235_character_virtue-may-choose-the-high-or-low-degree_2363891.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/alexander-pope-235_character_virtue-may-choose-the-high-or-low-degree_2363891.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/alexander-pope-235_character_virtue-may-choose-the-high-or-low-degree_2363891.png) > “Virtue may choose the high or low degree, 'Tis just alike to virtue, and to me; Dwell in a monk, or light upon a king, She's still the same belov'd, contented thing.” [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Virtue is consistent regardless of status; moral character transcends rank. **In simple terms:** Virtue stays the same whether high or low. Key Takeaway Judge people by character, not position. Themes morality equality character Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - leadership - education - legal judgments Key Concepts ethics philosophy social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - Can virtue truly be indifferent to social standing? - How does status influence moral perception? A Different Perspective Virtue can be compromised by power dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monk/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [And what does reward virtue? You think the communist commissar rewards virtue? You think a Hitler rewards virtue? You think, excuse me, if you'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/and-what-does-reward-virtue-you-think-the-communist-commissar-rewards/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [Virtue cannot dwell with wealth either in a city or in a house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes/virtue-cannot-dwell-with-wealth-either-in-a-city-or-in-a-house/) [Diogenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes/) > [With wine, poetry, or virtue as you choose. But get drunk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-wine-poetry-or-virtue-as-you-choose-but-get-drunk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s true what they say about patience being a virtue; it just happens to be a virtue that I choose not to pursue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/it-s-true-what-they-say-about-patience-being-a-virtue-it-just-happens/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [“A city is not adorned by external things, but by the virtue of those who dwell in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/a-city-is-not-adorned-by-external-things-but-by-the-virtue-of-those/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/rarely-do-great-beauty-and-great-virtue-dwell-together/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [The Jackdaw sat in the Cardinal's chair! Bishop and Abbot and Prior were there, Many a monk and many a friar, Many a knight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-harris-barham/the-jackdaw-sat-in-the-cardinal-s-chair-bishop-and-abbot-and-prior/) [Richard Harris Barham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-harris-barham/) > [“I have my own way to walk and for some reason or other Zen is right in the middle of it wherever I go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-have-my-own-way-to-walk-and-for-some-reason-or-other-zen-is-right/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Believe nothing, O monks, just because you have been told it, or it is commonly believed, or because it is traditional or because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/believe-nothing-o-monks-just-because-you-have-been-told-it-or-it-is/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Indeed, said the monk, a mass, a matins, and vespers well rung are half-said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/indeed-said-the-monk-a-mass-a-matins-and-vespers-well-rung-are-half/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [If your spirit still looks around at the time of prayer, then it does not yet pray as a monk. You are no better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evagrius-ponticus/if-your-spirit-still-looks-around-at-the-time-of-prayer-then-it-does/) [Evagrius Ponticus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evagrius-ponticus/) > [I listened to King Oliver and I listened to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp... I listened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-listened-to-king-oliver-and-i-listened-to-louis-armstrong-jelly/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) ## More by Alexander Pope > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-wake-the-soul-by-tender-strokes-of-art-to-raise-the-genius-and-to/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [A mighty maze! But not without a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-mighty-maze-but-not-without-a-plan/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Let such teach others who themselves excel, And censure freely who have written well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/let-such-teach-others-who-themselves-excel-and-censure-freely-who/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/for-i-who-hold-sage-homer-s-rule-the-best-welcome-the-coming-speed/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/like-following-life-through-creatures-you-dissect-you-lose-it-in-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [When two people compliment each other with the choice of anything, each of them generally gets that which he likes least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/when-two-people-compliment-each-other-with-the-choice-of-anything/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, Amaze th' unlearn'd and make the learned smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/such-labour-d-nothings-in-so-strange-a-style-amaze-th-unlearn-d-and/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/charms-strike-the-sight-but-merit-wins-the-soul/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I am satisfied to trifle away my time, rather than let it stick by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/i-am-satisfied-to-trifle-away-my-time-rather-than-let-it-stick-by-me/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The greatest advantage I know of being thought a wit by the world is, that it gives one the greater freedom of playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-greatest-advantage-i-know-of-being-thought-a-wit-by-the-world-is/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Then say not Man's imperfect,Heav'n in fault; Say rather, Man's as perfect ashe ought:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/then-say-not-man-s-imperfect-heav-n-in-fault-say-rather-man-s-as/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [First follow Nature, and your judgment frame By her just standard, which is still the same: Unerring nature, still divinely bright, One clear, unchanged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/first-follow-nature-and-your-judgment-frame-by-her-just-standard/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Who shall decide when doctors disagree, And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/who-shall-decide-when-doctors-disagree-and-soundest-casuists-doubt/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) [Explore all 850 Alexander Pope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Virtue may choose the high or low degree, 'Tis just alike to virtue, and to me; Dwell in a monk, or light upon a king, She's still the same belov'd, contented thing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Pope" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/virtue-may-choose-the-high-or-low-degree-tis-just-alike-to-virtue-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/virtue-may-choose-the-high-or-low-degree-tis-just-alike-to-virtue-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/alexander-pope-235_character_virtue-may-choose-the-high-or-low-degree_2363891.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/alexander-pope-235_character_virtue-may-choose-the-high-or-low-degree_2363891.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/alexander-pope-235_character_virtue-may-choose-the-high-or-low-degree_2363891.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Virtue may choose the high or low degree, 'Tis just alike to virtue, and to me; Dwell in a monk, or light…” — Alexander Pope", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexander Pope", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Virtue may choose the high or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/virtue-may-choose-the-high-or-low-degree-tis-just-alike-to-virtue-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/virtue-may-choose-the-high-or-low-degree-tis-just-alike-to-virtue-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```