--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Virtue knows to a farthing what it has…" description: "\"Virtue knows to a farthing what it has lost by not having been vice.\" — Horace Walpole" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/466/horace-walpole-3357_character_virtue-knows-to-a-farthing-what-it-has-l_660005.jpg" --- # Virtue knows to a farthing what it has lost by not having… ![“Virtue knows to a farthing what it has lost by not having been vice.” quote by Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/466/horace-walpole-3357_character_virtue-knows-to-a-farthing-what-it-has-l_660005.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/466/horace-walpole-3357_character_virtue-knows-to-a-farthing-what-it-has-l_660005.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/466/horace-walpole-3357_character_virtue-knows-to-a-farthing-what-it-has-l_660005.jpg) > “Virtue knows to a farthing what it has lost by not having been vice.” [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) ## 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 undervalued because its loss is less obvious than the gain from vice. **In simple terms:** Goodness often goes unnoticed. Key Takeaway Recognize the cost of losing virtue. Themes morality philosophy human nature value perception Mood reflective critical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal decision making - leadership - education - policy making - social criticism Key Concepts ethical theory psychology of loss moral economics Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure moral loss? - Can vice ever be justified? A Different Perspective Virtue may be hard to quantify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Having Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-vice-5260782/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Lost Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-having-3769999/) [Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-knows-3227491/) ## Related quotes > [“So, are you telling me we're lost?" "Not yet," Eli said. "But you have no idea where we are." "Not really." "That means 'lost'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eliyahu-truitt/so-are-you-telling-me-we-re-lost-not-yet-eli-said-but-you-have-no/) [Edward Eliyahu Truitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eliyahu-truitt/) > [Virtue knows that it is impossible to get on without compromise, and tunes herself, as it were, a trifle sharp to allow for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/virtue-knows-that-it-is-impossible-to-get-on-without-compromise-and/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Be it mine to draw from wisdom's fount, pure as it flows, that calm of soul which virtue only knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/be-it-mine-to-draw-from-wisdom-s-fount-pure-as-it-flows-that-calm-of/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Virtue knows no color line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/virtue-knows-no-color-line/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The life of a good man is at the same time the most eloquent lesson of virtue and the most severe reproof of vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/the-life-of-a-good-man-is-at-the-same-time-the-most-eloquent-lesson/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) > [If vice and corruption prevail, liberty cannot subsist; but if virtue have the advantage, arbitrary power cannot be established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-sidney/if-vice-and-corruption-prevail-liberty-cannot-subsist-but-if-virtue/) [Algernon Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-sidney/) > [When virtue is at liberty, so to some extent is vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/when-virtue-is-at-liberty-so-to-some-extent-is-vice/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [He, who practices right, but in the hope of acquiring great renown, is very near to vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/he-who-practices-right-but-in-the-hope-of-acquiring-great-renown-is/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Virtue, thou in rags, may challenge more than vice set off with all the trim of greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-massinger/virtue-thou-in-rags-may-challenge-more-than-vice-set-off-with-all-the/) [Philip Massinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-massinger/) > [Vice: Anything you enjoy that is bad for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/vice-anything-you-enjoy-that-is-bad-for-you/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/vice-is-its-own-reward-it-is-virtue-which-if-it-is-to-be-marketed/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [...virtue is attended by more peace of mind than vice, and meets with a more favourable reception from the world. I am sensible, that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/virtue-is-attended-by-more-peace-of-mind-than-vice-and-meets-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Horace Walpole > [ René of Anjou \[(1409-80)\] painted a picture of his mistress's corpse as he found it eaten by worms on having it \[her tomb\] openedon… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/ren-of-anjou-1409-80-painted-a-picture-of-his-mistress-s-corpse-as-he/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [Our supreme governors, the mob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/our-supreme-governors-the-mob/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [A poet who makes use of a worse word instead of a better, because the former fits the rhyme or the measure, though it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/a-poet-who-makes-use-of-a-worse-word-instead-of-a-better-because-the/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [Foolish writers and readers are created for each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/foolish-writers-and-readers-are-created-for-each-other/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [I do not dislike the French from the vulgar antipathy between neighboring nations, but for their insolent and unfounded air of superiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/i-do-not-dislike-the-french-from-the-vulgar-antipathy-between/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [Life is a farce, and should not end with a mourning scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/life-is-a-farce-and-should-not-end-with-a-mourning-scene/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [Lord Bath used to say of women, who are apt to say that they will follow their own judgment, that they could not follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/lord-bath-used-to-say-of-women-who-are-apt-to-say-that-they-will/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [An ancient prophecy ... pronounced, That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/an-ancient-prophecy-pronounced-that-the-castle-and-lordship-of/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [Plot, rules, nor even poetry, are not half so great beauties in tragedy or comedy as a just imitation of nature, of character, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-walpole/plot-rules-nor-even-poetry-are-not-half-so-great-beauties-in-tragedy/) [Horace Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-walpole/) > [“But alas! my Lord, what is blood! what is nobility! We are all reptiles, miserable, sinful creatures. 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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. 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