--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no virtue so truly great and…" description: "\"There is no virtue so truly great and godlike as justice.\" — Joseph Addison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/joseph-addison-377_character_there-is-no-virtue-so-truly-great-and-go_2828038.png" --- # There is no virtue so truly great and godlike as justice. ![“There is no virtue so truly great and godlike as justice.” quote by Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/joseph-addison-377_character_there-is-no-virtue-so-truly-great-and-go_2828038.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/joseph-addison-377_character_there-is-no-virtue-so-truly-great-and-go_2828038.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/joseph-addison-377_character_there-is-no-virtue-so-truly-great-and-go_2828038.png) > “There is no virtue so truly great and godlike as justice.” [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Justice is the highest moral virtue, embodying fairness and divine-like goodness. **In simple terms:** Justice is the greatest virtue. Key Takeaway Uphold fairness in all actions. Themes morality justice virtue Mood reflective serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - legal decisions - community leadership - personal ethics - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethical philosophy human dignity Questions to Reflect On - How do you define justice in daily life? - When does justice conflict with compassion? A Different Perspective Justice can be subjective and culturally dependent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Godlike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/godlike/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [We evaluate others with a Godlike justice, but we want them to evaluate us with a Godlike compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/we-evaluate-others-with-a-godlike-justice-but-we-want-them-to/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [Knowledge is that which, next to virtue, truly raises one person above another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/knowledge-is-that-which-next-to-virtue-truly-raises-one-person-above/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Knowledge is, indeed, that which, next to virtue, truly and essentially raises one man above another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/knowledge-is-indeed-that-which-next-to-virtue-truly-and-essentially/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Difficult, say you? Difficult to be a man of virtue, truly good, shaped and fashioned without flaw in the perfect figure of four-squared excellence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simonides-of-ceos/difficult-say-you-difficult-to-be-a-man-of-virtue-truly-good-shaped/) [Simonides of Ceos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simonides-of-ceos/) > [Virtue is the highest reward. Virtue truly goes before all things. Liberty, safety, life, property, parents, country, and children are protected and preserved. Virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/virtue-is-the-highest-reward-virtue-truly-goes-before-all-things/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [One's virtue is all that one truly has, because it is not imperiled by the vicissitudes of fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius/one-s-virtue-is-all-that-one-truly-has-because-it-is-not-imperiled-by/) [Boethius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius/) > [Only wisdom and virtue can truly win men's devotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-bei/only-wisdom-and-virtue-can-truly-win-men-s-devotion/) [Liu Bei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-bei/) > [Female Virtues are of a Domestick turn. The Family is the proper Province for Private Women to Shine in. 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/) > [If there's a power above us, (And that there is all nature cries aloud Through all her works,) he must delight in virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/if-there-s-a-power-above-us-and-that-there-is-all-nature-cries-aloud/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [O blessed bounty, giving ail content! The only fautress of all noble arts That lend'st success to every good intent. A grace that rests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-drayton/o-blessed-bounty-giving-ail-content-the-only-fautress-of-all-noble/) [Michael Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-drayton/) > [We fear our highest possibilities. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under conditions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/we-fear-our-highest-possibilities-we-are-generally-afraid-to-become/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [The mystery of a person, indeed, is ever divine to him that has a sense for the godlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-mystery-of-a-person-indeed-is-ever-divine-to-him-that-has-a-sense/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The faculty of self-help is that which distinguished man from animals; that it is the Godlike element, or holds within itself the Godlike element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/the-faculty-of-self-help-is-that-which-distinguished-man-from-animals/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Being an artist is a totally godlike thing to do - and I have a god complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/being-an-artist-is-a-totally-godlike-thing-to-do-and-i-have-a-god/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) ## More by Joseph Addison > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There is nothing touches our imagination so much as a beautiful woman in a plain dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-nothing-touches-our-imagination-so-much-as-a-beautiful-woman/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [We are always doing something for posterity, but I would fain see posterity do something for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/we-are-always-doing-something-for-posterity-but-i-would-fain-see/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Female Virtues are of a Domestick turn. The Family is the proper Province for Private Women to Shine in. 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/) > [As addictions go, reading is among the cleanest, easiest to feed, happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/as-addictions-go-reading-is-among-the-cleanest-easiest-to-feed/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [When love once pleads admission to our hearts, In spite of all the virtue we can boast, The woman that deliberates is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/when-love-once-pleads-admission-to-our-hearts-in-spite-of-all-the/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Many actions calculated to procure fame are not conducive to ultimate happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/many-actions-calculated-to-procure-fame-are-not-conducive-to-ultimate/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [T is liberty crowns Britannia's Isle, And makes her barren rocks and her bleak mountains smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/t-is-liberty-crowns-britannia-s-isle-and-makes-her-barren-rocks-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/reading-is-a-basic-tool-in-the-living-of-a-good-life/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The moral perfections of the Deity, the more attentively, we consider, the more perfectly still shall we know them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-moral-perfections-of-the-deity-the-more-attentively-we-consider/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The utmost we can hope for in this world is contentment; if we aim at anything higher, we shall meet with nothing but grief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-utmost-we-can-hope-for-in-this-world-is-contentment-if-we-aim-at/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Courage that grows from constitution often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it; courage which arises from a sense of duty acts;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/courage-that-grows-from-constitution-often-forsakes-a-man-when-he-has/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The most skillful flattery is to let a person talk on, and be a listener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-most-skillful-flattery-is-to-let-a-person-talk-on-and-be-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) [Explore all 620 Joseph Addison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## 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. 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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": "There is no virtue so truly great and godlike as justice.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Addison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-virtue-so-truly-great-and-godlike-as-justice/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-virtue-so-truly-great-and-godlike-as-justice/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/joseph-addison-377_character_there-is-no-virtue-so-truly-great-and-go_2828038.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/joseph-addison-377_character_there-is-no-virtue-so-truly-great-and-go_2828038.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/joseph-addison-377_character_there-is-no-virtue-so-truly-great-and-go_2828038.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no virtue so truly great and godlike as justice.” — Joseph Addison", "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": "Joseph Addison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no virtue so truly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-virtue-so-truly-great-and-godlike-as-justice/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-virtue-so-truly-great-and-godlike-as-justice/#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 } } ] } ```