--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is it that constitutes virtue, Mrs…" description: "\"“What is it that constitutes virtue, Mrs. Graham? Is it the circumstance of being able and willing to resist temptation; or that of having no temptatio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/anne-bronte-1444_prepare-for-the-wors_what-is-it-that-constitutes-virtue-mrs-g_2447721.jpg" --- # What is it that constitutes virtue, Mrs. Graham? Is it the… ![“What is it that constitutes virtue, Mrs. Graham? Is it the circumstance of being able and willing to resist temptation; or that of having no temptations to resist? - Is he a strong man that overcomes great obstacles and performs surprising achievements, though by dint of great muscular exertion…” quote by Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/anne-bronte-1444_prepare-for-the-wors_what-is-it-that-constitutes-virtue-mrs-g_2447721.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/anne-bronte-1444_prepare-for-the-wors_what-is-it-that-constitutes-virtue-mrs-g_2447721.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/anne-bronte-1444_prepare-for-the-wors_what-is-it-that-constitutes-virtue-mrs-g_2447721.jpg) > ““What is it that constitutes virtue, Mrs. Graham? Is it the circumstance of being able and willing to resist temptation; or that of having no temptations to resist? - Is he a strong man that overcomes great obstacles and performs surprising achievements, though by dint of great muscular exertion, and at the risk of some subsequent fatigue, or he that sits in his chair all day, with nothing to do more laborious than stirring the fire, and carrying his food to his mouth? If you would have your son to walk honourably through the world, you must not attempt to clear the stones from his path, but teach him to walk firmly over them - not insist upon leading him by the hand, but let him learn to go alone.' 'I will lead him by the hand, Mr. Markham, till he has strength to go alone; and I will clear as many stones from his path as I can, and teach him to avoid the rest - or walk firmly over them, as you say; - for when I have done my utmost, in the way of clearance, there will still be plenty left to exercise all the agility, steadiness, and circumspection he will ever have. - It is all very well to talk about noble resistance, and trials of virtue; but for fifty - or five hundred men that have yielded to temptation, show me one that has had virtue to resist. And why should I take it for granted that my son will be one in a thousand? - and not rather prepare for the worst, and suppose he will be like his - like the rest of mankind, unless I take care to prevent it?”” [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) ## 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 forged through confronting challenges, not by avoiding temptations; teaching resilience requires allowing struggle. **In simple terms:** Virtue comes from facing obstacles. Key Takeaway Let children face challenges. Themes virtue resilience parenting Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - child upbringing - personal growth - ethical training Key Concepts moral philosophy education theory Questions to Reflect On - How to balance guidance and autonomy? - When should obstacles be removed? A Different Perspective Overprotective parenting can hinder development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Prepare for the worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prepare-for-the-worst/) [Strong man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-man/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [“What is it that constitutes virtue, Mrs. Graham? Is it the circumstance of being able and willing to resist temptation; or that of having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/what-is-it-that-constitutes-virtue-mrs-graham-is-it-the-circumstance/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The ordeal of virtue is to resist all temptation to evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-ordeal-of-virtue-is-to-resist-all-temptation-to-evil/) [Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/) > [Where there is no temptation, there is no virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/where-there-is-no-temptation-there-is-no-virtue/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Every life is march from innocence, through temptation, to virtue or vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/every-life-is-march-from-innocence-through-temptation-to-virtue-or/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [In proportion as a man is selfish, so far has he receded from the motive which constitutes virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/in-proportion-as-a-man-is-selfish-so-far-has-he-receded-from-the/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Self-love, as it happens to be well or ill conducted, constitutes virtue and vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/self-love-as-it-happens-to-be-well-or-ill-conducted-constitutes/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [.. that which renders morality an active principle and constitutes virtue our happiness, and vice our misery: it is probable, I say, that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/that-which-renders-morality-an-active-principle-and-constitutes/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kouchner/we-have-to-prepare-for-the-worst-and-the-worst-is-war/) Bernard Kouchner > [We're hoping for the best, but we need to prepare for the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/we-re-hoping-for-the-best-but-we-need-to-prepare-for-the-worst/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [This is for the best… but prepare for the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-for-the-best-but-prepare-for-the-worst/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“/When/ the piano falls, not /if/. Oh, Alyssa. What a way to live. With potential pain and heartbreak lurking around every corner. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-brockmann/when-the-piano-falls-not-if-oh-alyssa-what-a-way-to-live-with/) [Suzanne Brockmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-brockmann/) > [“In this life you've got to hope for the best, prepare for the worst and take whatever God sends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/in-this-life-you-ve-got-to-hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [I think we need to prepare for the worst, and so I support energy efficiency measures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-young/i-think-we-need-to-prepare-for-the-worst-and-so-i-support-energy/) [Todd Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-young/) > [“Prepare for the worst and you won’t be disappointed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/prepare-for-the-worst-and-you-won-t-be-disappointed/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [“Take the day one cautious step at a time. Remember how fearless tastes. Remember how your grandmother told you 'always prepare for the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-gill/take-the-day-one-cautious-step-at-a-time-remember-how-fearless-tastes/) [Nikita Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-gill/) ## More by Anne Brontë > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“There was a certain graceful ease and freedom about all he said and did, that gave a sense of repose and expansion to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-was-a-certain-graceful-ease-and-freedom-about-all-he-said-and/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“When a lady does consent to listen to an argument against her own opinions, she is always predetermined to withstand it - to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/when-a-lady-does-consent-to-listen-to-an-argument-against-her-own/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“There are, I suppose, some men as vain, as selfish, and as heartless as she is, and, perhaps, such women may be useful to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-i-suppose-some-men-as-vain-as-selfish-and-as-heartless-as/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [ “By his \[God's\] help I will arise and address myself diligently to my appointed duty. If happiness in this world is not for me,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/by-his-god-s-help-i-will-arise-and-address-myself-diligently-to-my/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [There is such a thing as looking through a person's eyes into the heart, and learning more of the height, and breadth, and depth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-is-such-a-thing-as-looking-through-a-person-s-eyes-into-the/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“Keep a guard over your eyes and ears as the inlets of your heart, and over your lips as the outlet, lest they betray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/keep-a-guard-over-your-eyes-and-ears-as-the-inlets-of-your-heart-and/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [What the world stigmatizes as romantic is often more nearly allied to the truth than is commonly supposed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/what-the-world-stigmatizes-as-romantic-is-often-more-nearly-allied-to/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [I was not really angry: I felt for him all the time, and longed to be reconciled; but I determined he should make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/i-was-not-really-angry-i-felt-for-him-all-the-time-and-longed-to-be/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“Sullen silence was taken for rapt attention, and gave him greater room to talk; sharp answers were received as smart sallies of girlish vivacity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/sullen-silence-was-taken-for-rapt-attention-and-gave-him-greater-room/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“Revenge! No—what good would that do?—it would make him no better, and me no happier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/revenge-no-what-good-would-that-do-it-would-make-him-no-better-and-me/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [I’ll promise to think twice before I take any important step you seriously disapprove of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/i-ll-promise-to-think-twice-before-i-take-any-important-step-you/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“It’s well to have such a comfortable assurance regarding the worth of those we love. I only wish you may not find your confidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/it-s-well-to-have-such-a-comfortable-assurance-regarding-the-worth-of/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [How odd it is that we so often weep for each other's distresses, when we shed not a tear for our own!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/how-odd-it-is-that-we-so-often-weep-for-each-other-s-distresses-when/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [Adoration isn't love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/adoration-isn-t-love/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) [Explore all 235 Anne Brontë quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) ## More Prepare for the worst quotes > [“Take the day one cautious step at a time. Remember how fearless tastes. Remember how your grandmother told you 'always prepare for the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-gill/take-the-day-one-cautious-step-at-a-time-remember-how-fearless-tastes/) [Nikita Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-gill/) > [“Prepare for the worst and you won’t be disappointed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/prepare-for-the-worst-and-you-won-t-be-disappointed/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [I think we need to prepare for the worst, and so I support energy efficiency measures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-young/i-think-we-need-to-prepare-for-the-worst-and-so-i-support-energy/) [Todd Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-young/) > [“In this life you've got to hope for the best, prepare for the worst and take whatever God sends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/in-this-life-you-ve-got-to-hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [“/When/ the piano falls, not /if/. Oh, Alyssa. What a way to live. With potential pain and heartbreak lurking around every corner. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-brockmann/when-the-piano-falls-not-if-oh-alyssa-what-a-way-to-live-with/) [Suzanne Brockmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-brockmann/) > [This is for the best… but prepare for the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-for-the-best-but-prepare-for-the-worst/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We're hoping for the best, but we need to prepare for the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/we-re-hoping-for-the-best-but-we-need-to-prepare-for-the-worst/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [“We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst is war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kouchner/we-have-to-prepare-for-the-worst-and-the-worst-is-war/) Bernard Kouchner > [STRIVE for the best, PREPARE for the worst, and LIVE with the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/strive-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst-and-live-with-the-rest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Hope for the best," I said. "Prepare for the worst.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-christo/hope-for-the-best-i-said-prepare-for-the-worst/) [Rose Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-christo/) > [There are so many scenarios here. We tried to prepare for the worst summer in 40 years and build assumptions based on that. We're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gray-davis/there-are-so-many-scenarios-here-we-tried-to-prepare-for-the-worst/) [Gray Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gray-davis/) > [“But maybe everything'll go all right. In this world you've just got to hope for the best and prepare for the worst and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/but-maybe-everything-ll-go-all-right-in-this-world-you-ve-just-got-to/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Always prepare for the worst, but expect the best, helps out a lot. 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Is it the circumstance of being able and willing to resist temptation; or that of having no temptations to resist? - Is he a strong man that overcomes great obstacles and performs surprising achievements, though by dint of great muscular exertion, and at the risk of some subsequent fatigue, or he that sits in his chair all day, with nothing to do more laborious than stirring the fire, and carrying his food to his mouth? If you would have your son to walk honourably through the world, you must not attempt to clear the stones from his path, but teach him to walk firmly over them - not insist upon leading him by the hand, but let him learn to go alone.' 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