Avoiding Quote by Horace
![“Virtue consists in avoiding vice, and is the highest wisdom. [Lat., Virtus est vitium fugere, et sapientia prima.]” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c67/horace-172_avoiding_virtue-consists-in-avoiding-vice-and-is_1119709.jpg)
“Virtue consists in avoiding vice, and is the highest wisdom. [Lat., Virtus est vitium fugere, et sapientia prima.]”
About This Quote
Source Poem: Epistles, Book 1, 13, 2nd century BC
Virtue is achieved by avoiding wrongdoing, representing the highest form of wisdom.
In simple terms: Avoiding vice is the greatest wisdom.
Key Takeaway
Seek virtue by steering clear of harmful actions.
Themes
morality
wisdom
self‑control
philosophy
Mood
reflective
serious
Type
philosophical
ethical
When to use this quote
- Making ethical decisions at work
- teaching children right from wrong
- self‑reflection on habits
- public policy on morality
Key Concepts
Ethics
classical thought
virtue ethics
Questions to Reflect On
- What vice do you struggle to avoid?
- How can virtue be practiced in modern life?
A Different Perspective
Virtue alone may not solve complex societal problems.
![“Virtue is the only and true nobility. [Lat., Nobilitas sola est atque unica virtus.]” quote by Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fc5/juvenal-918_character_virtue-is-the-only-and-true-nobility-lat_777970.jpg)
![“Although virtue receives some of its excellencies from nature, yet it is perfected by education. [Lat., Virtus, etiamsi quosdam impetus a natura sumit, tamen perficienda doctrina est.]” quote by Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/eb5/quintilian-7306_character_although-virtue-receives-some-of-its-exc_1135158.jpg)
![“Though ambition in itself is a vice, yet it is often the parent of virtues. [Lat., Licet ipsa vitium sit ambitio, frequenter tamen causa virtutem est.]” quote by Quintilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d5a/quintilian-7306_ambition_though-ambition-in-itself-is-a-vice-yet_1152302.jpg)
![“In a moment comes either death or joyful victory. [Lat., Horae Momento cita mors venit aut victoria laeta.]” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a43/horace-172_death_in-a-moment-comes-either-death-or-joyful_17189.jpg)
![“Neither men, nor gods, nor booksellers' shelves permit ordinary poets to exist. [Lat., Mediocribus esse poetis Non homines, non di, non concessere columnae.]” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bd4/horace-172_booksellers_neither-men-nor-gods-nor-booksellers-she_23851.jpg)
![“I can hardly believe what these 12 caricatures [about Prophet Muhammad] have caused in the world. We Danes feel like we have been placed in a scene in the wrong movie. But I don't see the fight as a clash of civilizations. Rather, we must focus on avoiding exactly this type of conflict. We have to…” quote by Anders Fogh Rasmussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8d8/anders-fogh-rasmussen-21056_acknowledgement_i-can-hardly-believe-what-these-12-caric_14933.jpg)
