--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Virtue is not a solitary, uncomplicated…" description: "\"“Virtue is not a solitary, uncomplicated thing.” Good necessitates evil and the two sides of that disk are not always clearly marked. “Virtues may be m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c11/ann-leckie-8760_character_virtue-is-not-a-solitary-uncomplicated-t_2230697.jpg" --- # Virtue is not a solitary, uncomplicated thing.” Good… ![“Virtue is not a solitary, uncomplicated thing.” Good necessitates evil and the two sides of that disk are not always clearly marked. “Virtues may be made to serve whatever end profits you. Still, they exist and will influence your actions. Your choices.” Strigan” quote by Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c11/ann-leckie-8760_character_virtue-is-not-a-solitary-uncomplicated-t_2230697.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c11/ann-leckie-8760_character_virtue-is-not-a-solitary-uncomplicated-t_2230697.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c11/ann-leckie-8760_character_virtue-is-not-a-solitary-uncomplicated-t_2230697.jpg) > ““Virtue is not a solitary, uncomplicated thing.” Good necessitates evil and the two sides of that disk are not always clearly marked. “Virtues may be made to serve whatever end profits you. Still, they exist and will influence your actions. Your choices.” Strigan”” [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She argues that virtues are complex and can be used for selfish ends, acknowledging moral ambiguity and the interplay of good and evil. **In simple terms:** Virtues are complex and can serve selfish goals. Key Takeaway Recognize moral ambiguity in ethical choices. Themes ethics complexity dualism Mood philosophical critical Type ethical reflective When to use this quote - political decisions - business ethics - personal dilemmas - creative storytelling Key Concepts moral philosophy human nature Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance virtue and self‑interest? - When is compromise justified? A Different Perspective Virtues may be compromised by intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Marked Virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marked-virtues-5017597/) [Two sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-sides/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-solitary-2577386/) [Virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtues/) [Virtues Serve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtues-serve-1483567/) ## Related quotes > [We ought to deal kindly with all, and to manifest those qualities which spring naturally from a heart tender and full of Christian charity;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/we-ought-to-deal-kindly-with-all-and-to-manifest-those-qualities/) [St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/) > [Virtue is not solitary; it is bound to have neighbors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/virtue-is-not-solitary-it-is-bound-to-have-neighbors/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [“And this hypocrisy found I worst amongst them, that even those who command feign the virtues of those who serve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/and-this-hypocrisy-found-i-worst-amongst-them-that-even-those-who/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Good necessitates evil and the two sides of that disk are not always clearly marked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/good-necessitates-evil-and-the-two-sides-of-that-disk-are-not-always/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [For both excessive and insufficient exercise destroy one's strength, and both eating and drinking too much or too little destroy health, whereas the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/for-both-excessive-and-insufficient-exercise-destroy-one-s-strength/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The least known among the virtues and also the most misunderstood is the virtue of humility. 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Both the one and the other were scattered through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/like-all-of-us-sinners-general-betrishchev-was-endowed-with-many/) [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) > [Magnify the virtues, minimize the faults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-cayce/magnify-the-virtues-minimize-the-faults/) [Edgar Cayce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-cayce/) > [Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/courage-is-not-simply-one-of-the-virtues-but-the-form-of-every-virtue/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I may be stupid, as you say, to believe in honour and friendship and loyalty without price. 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If they must be showing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/female-virtues-are-of-a-domestick-turn-the-family-is-the-proper/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The queen of virtues is the recognition of one's own flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/the-queen-of-virtues-is-the-recognition-of-one-s-own-flaws/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [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/) ## More by Ann Leckie > [The Romans have provided a lot of writers with a model for various interstellar empires, of course, and no wonder. The Roman Empire is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-romans-have-provided-a-lot-of-writers-with-a-model-for-various/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“The gender thing is a giveaway, though. Only a Radchaai would misgender people the way you do." I'd guessed wrong. "I can't see under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-gender-thing-is-a-giveaway-though-only-a-radchaai-would-misgender/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“If you’d refused, nothing would have changed, except you’d be dead too. You did what you had to do,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/if-you-d-refused-nothing-would-have-changed-except-you-d-be-dead-too/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [Unity, I thought, implies the possibility of disunity. Beginnings imply and require endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/unity-i-thought-implies-the-possibility-of-disunity-beginnings-imply/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“Good necessitates evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/good-necessitates-evil/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“The single word that directs a person’s fate and ultimately the fates of those she comes in contact with is of course a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-single-word-that-directs-a-person-s-fate-and-ultimately-the-fates/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“I find forgiveness overrated. There are times and places when it’s appropriate. But not when the demand that you forgive is used to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/i-find-forgiveness-overrated-there-are-times-and-places-when-it-s/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“Ridiculous!" scoffed Anaander. "Translator, ships and stations are not Significant beings, they are my property. I caused them to be built." "I'm given to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/ridiculous-scoffed-anaander-translator-ships-and-stations-are-not/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [Good necessitates evil and the two sides of that disk are not always clearly marked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/good-necessitates-evil-and-the-two-sides-of-that-disk-are-not-always/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“I saw them all, suddenly, for just a moment, through non-Radchaai eyes, an eddying crowd of unnervingly ambiguously gendered people. I saw all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/i-saw-them-all-suddenly-for-just-a-moment-through-non-radchaai-eyes/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [Without feelings insignificant decisions become excruciating attempts to compare endless arrays of inconsequential things. It's just easier to handle those with emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/without-feelings-insignificant-decisions-become-excruciating-attempts/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“The smallest, most seemingly insignificant event is part of an intricate whole and to understand why one particular mote of dust falls in one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-smallest-most-seemingly-insignificant-event-is-part-of-an/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“When you’re doing something like this,” I said, “the odds are irrelevant. You don’t need to know the odds. 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