--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Virtue is like precious odours,-most…" description: "\"Virtue is like precious odours,-most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed.\" — Francis Bacon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/francis-bacon-297_character_virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-frag_1079070.jpg" --- # Virtue is like precious odours,-most fragrant when they… ![“Virtue is like precious odours,-most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed.” quote by Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/francis-bacon-297_character_virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-frag_1079070.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/francis-bacon-297_character_virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-frag_1079070.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/francis-bacon-297_character_virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-frag_1079070.jpg) > “Virtue is like precious odours,-most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed.” [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Virtues become most evident when they are challenged or suppressed, revealing their true fragrance. **In simple terms:** Virtues shine brightest under pressure. Key Takeaway Test virtues by facing adversity. Themes ethics character resilience challenge philosophy Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - leadership trials - personal moral dilemmas - educational discussions on virtue - conflict resolution training Key Concepts moral philosophy human nature psychology Questions to Reflect On - What virtues emerge under stress? - Do challenges always reveal true character? A Different Perspective Virtues may be hidden, not intensified, when suppressed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Fragrant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragrant/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Virtue is like precious odours, most fragrant when it is crushed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baroness-orczy/virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-fragrant-when-it-is-crushed/) [Baroness Orczy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baroness-orczy/) > [“Virtue is like precious odours, more fragrant when they are incensed or crushed; for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/virtue-is-like-precious-odours-more-fragrant-when-they-are-incensed/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Certainly virtue is like precious odors, most fragrant when they are incensed, or crushed: for prosperity doth best discover vice, but adversity doth best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/certainly-virtue-is-like-precious-odors-most-fragrant-when-they-are/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Virtue is like a rich stone, best plain set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/virtue-is-like-a-rich-stone-best-plain-set/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Wisdom and virtue are like two wheels of a cart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-and-virtue-are-like-two-wheels-of-a-cart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She looks very virtuous and very melancholy." "Virtue is like the precious odors, most fragrant when it is crushed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baroness-emma-orczy/she-looks-very-virtuous-and-very-melancholy-virtue-is-like-the/) [Baroness Emma Orczy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baroness-emma-orczy/) > [Virtue is like health: the harmony of the whole man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/virtue-is-like-health-the-harmony-of-the-whole-man/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Beauty without virtue is like a rose without scent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/beauty-without-virtue-is-like-a-rose-without-scent/) Proverb > [There is no sanctuary of virtue like home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/there-is-no-sanctuary-of-virtue-like-home/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) > [There is no sanctuary of virtue like a home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/there-is-no-sanctuary-of-virtue-like-a-home/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) > [Virtue, like a dowerless beauty, has more admirers than followers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/virtue-like-a-dowerless-beauty-has-more-admirers-than-followers/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [The soul that companies with virtue is like an ever-flowing source. It is a pure, clear, and wholesome draught, sweet, rich and generous of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/the-soul-that-companies-with-virtue-is-like-an-ever-flowing-source-it/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [The virtue you would like to have, assume it is already yours, appropriate it, enter into the part and live the character just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-virtue-you-would-like-to-have-assume-it-is-already-yours/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A soul which is conversant with virtue is like an ever flowing source, for it is pure and tranquil and potable and sweet and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/a-soul-which-is-conversant-with-virtue-is-like-an-ever-flowing-source/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Those herbs which perfume the air most delightfully, not passed by as the rest, but, being trodden upon and crushed, are three; that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/those-herbs-which-perfume-the-air-most-delightfully-not-passed-by-as/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## More by Francis Bacon > [Princes are like heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and which have much veneration, but no rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/princes-are-like-heavenly-bodies-which-cause-good-or-evil-times-and/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The best preservative to keep the mind in health is the faithful admonition of a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-best-preservative-to-keep-the-mind-in-health-is-the-faithful/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/painting-today-is-pure-intuition-and-luck-and-taking-advantage-of/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Much bending breaks the bow; much unbending the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/much-bending-breaks-the-bow-much-unbending-the-mind/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When Christ came into the world, peace was sung; and when He went out of the world, peace was bequeathed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-christ-came-into-the-world-peace-was-sung-and-when-he-went-out/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [...neither is it possible to discover the more remote and deeper parts of any science, if you stand but upon the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/neither-is-it-possible-to-discover-the-more-remote-and-deeper-parts/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The human understanding, when any preposition has been once laid down... forces everything else to add fresh support and confirmation; and although more cogent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-human-understanding-when-any-preposition-has-been-once-laid-down/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I should have been, I don't know, a con-man, a robber or a prostitute. But it was vanity that made me choose painting, vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-should-have-been-i-don-t-know-a-con-man-a-robber-or-a-prostitute/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Wounds cannot be cured without searching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/wounds-cannot-be-cured-without-searching/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-french-are-wiser-than-they-seem-and-the-spaniards-seem-wiser-than/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When a man laughs at his troubles he loses a great many friends. They never forgive the loss of their prerogative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/when-a-man-laughs-at-his-troubles-he-loses-a-great-many-friends-they/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Believing that I was born for the service of mankind, and regarding the care of the commonwealth as a kind of common property which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/believing-that-i-was-born-for-the-service-of-mankind-and-regarding/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Explore all 711 Francis Bacon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) ## 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 is like precious odours,-most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Bacon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-fragrant-when-they-are-incensed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-fragrant-when-they-are-incensed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/francis-bacon-297_character_virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-frag_1079070.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/francis-bacon-297_character_virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-frag_1079070.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/francis-bacon-297_character_virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-frag_1079070.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Virtue is like precious odours,-most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed.” — Francis Bacon", "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": "Francis Bacon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Virtue is like precious odours,-most fragrant...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-fragrant-when-they-are-incensed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/virtue-is-like-precious-odours-most-fragrant-when-they-are-incensed/#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 } } ] } ```