--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History teaches us virtue, but nature…" description: "\"History teaches us virtue, but nature never ceases to teachh us vice.\" — Ludwig Borne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/ludwig-borne-29171_cease_history-teaches-us-virtue-but-nature-nev_2986656.jpg" --- # History teaches us virtue, but nature never ceases to… ![“History teaches us virtue, but nature never ceases to teachh us vice.” quote by Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/ludwig-borne-29171_cease_history-teaches-us-virtue-but-nature-nev_2986656.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/ludwig-borne-29171_cease_history-teaches-us-virtue-but-nature-nev_2986656.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/ludwig-borne-29171_cease_history-teaches-us-virtue-but-nature-nev_2986656.jpg) > “History teaches us virtue, but nature never ceases to teachh us vice.” [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human behavior is shaped by both moral lessons from history and innate impulses that lead to wrongdoing. **In simple terms:** History shows virtue; nature shows vice. Key Takeaway Balance learning from past and self-awareness. Themes morality human nature learning Mood reflective thoughtful Type aphoristic philosophical When to use this quote - personal development - education - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethics psychology historical perspective Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile learned virtues with natural urges? - Can awareness of innate vice improve moral choices? A Different Perspective Nature's impulses can overwhelm rational lessons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Sarcasm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sarcasm/) [Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [“More generally, as I shall repeat in Chapter 8, one of the truly bad effects of religion is that it teaches us that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/more-generally-as-i-shall-repeat-in-chapter-8-one-of-the-truly-bad/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [When even one virtue becomes our nature, the mind becomes clean and tranquil. Then there is no need to practice meditation; we will automatically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-even-one-virtue-becomes-our-nature-the-mind-becomes-clean-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is in the nature of water ... to become transformed into earth through a predominating earthy virtue; ... it is in the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avicenna/it-is-in-the-nature-of-water-to-become-transformed-into-earth-through/) [Avicenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avicenna/) > [As humanity perfects itself, man becomes degraded. When everything is reduced to the mere counter-balancing of economic interests, what room will there be for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-humanity-perfects-itself-man-becomes-degraded-when-everything-is/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“History teaches us many things. Most importantly, the things that made us who and what we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bonville/history-teaches-us-many-things-most-importantly-the-things-that-made/) Robert Bonville > [History teaches us that a given view has been abandoned in favor of another by all men, or by all competent men, or perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/history-teaches-us-that-a-given-view-has-been-abandoned-in-favor-of/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [“What history teaches us is that men have never learned anything from it.” —G. W. F. Hegel, nineteenth-century German philosopher”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-viola/what-history-teaches-us-is-that-men-have-never-learned-anything-from/) [Frank Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-viola/) > [“If history teaches anything it is that there can be no peace without equilibrium and no justice without restraint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-kissinger/if-history-teaches-anything-it-is-that-there-can-be-no-peace-without/) [Henry Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-kissinger/) > [“History teaches us that men and nations only behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives." --”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abba-eban/history-teaches-us-that-men-and-nations-only-behave-wisely-once-they/) [Abba Eban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abba-eban/) > [History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/history-teaches-that-war-begins-when-governments-believe-the-price-of/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The only thing history teaches us, a wise man once said, is that history doesn’t teach us anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-only-thing-history-teaches-us-a-wise-man-once-said-is-that/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [If history teaches anything, it teaches humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-s-wood/if-history-teaches-anything-it-teaches-humility/) [Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-s-wood/) > [“History teaches us that ordinary people can grow accustomed to horrible, normally unthinkable acts—what”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-e-lieberman/history-teaches-us-that-ordinary-people-can-grow-accustomed-to/) [Daniel E. Lieberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-e-lieberman/) > [If History teaches any lesson at all, it is that there are no historical lessons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucien-febvre/if-history-teaches-any-lesson-at-all-it-is-that-there-are-no/) [Lucien Febvre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucien-febvre/) > [From men motivated by moral certitude, history teaches, no lasting good ever comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/from-men-motivated-by-moral-certitude-history-teaches-no-lasting-good/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) ## More by Ludwig Borne > [Getting rid of a delusion makes us wiser than getting hold of a truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/getting-rid-of-a-delusion-makes-us-wiser-than-getting-hold-of-a-truth/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [To be original you must listen to the voice of your heart rather than the clamor of the world - and have the courage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/to-be-original-you-must-listen-to-the-voice-of-your-heart-rather-than/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [The most dangerous person is the fearful; he is the most to be feared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/the-most-dangerous-person-is-the-fearful-he-is-the-most-to-be-feared/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [Ministers fall like buttered slices of bread: usually on their good side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/ministers-fall-like-buttered-slices-of-bread-usually-on-their-good/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [Only the suppressed word is dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/only-the-suppressed-word-is-dangerous/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [Goodwill is the one and only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/goodwill-is-the-one-and-only-asset-that-competition-cannot-undersell/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [The secret of power is the knowledge that others are more cowardly than you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/the-secret-of-power-is-the-knowledge-that-others-are-more-cowardly/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [Nought endures but change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/nought-endures-but-change/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [Nothing is lasting but change; nothing perpetual but death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/nothing-is-lasting-but-change-nothing-perpetual-but-death/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/losing-an-illusion-makes-you-wiser-than-finding-a-truth/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [Because I was born a slave, I love liberty more than you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/because-i-was-born-a-slave-i-love-liberty-more-than-you/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [Women are most adorable when they are afraid; that's why they frighten so easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/women-are-most-adorable-when-they-are-afraid-that-s-why-they-frighten/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [You are not loved when you are lovely, but when you are loved you are found to be lovely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/you-are-not-loved-when-you-are-lovely-but-when-you-are-loved-you-are/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [Nothing endures except change; nothing is constant except death. Every heartbeat wounds us, and life would be an eternal bleeding to death, were it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/nothing-endures-except-change-nothing-is-constant-except-death-every/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [If you must hate, if hatred is the leaven of your life, which alone can give flavor, then hate what should be hated: falsehood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/if-you-must-hate-if-hatred-is-the-leaven-of-your-life-which-alone-can/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) [Explore all 18 Ludwig Borne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) ## More Cease quotes > [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [In the name of Jerusalem. If I forget the extermination of the Jews, may my right hand wither, may my tongue stick to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/in-the-name-of-jerusalem-if-i-forget-the-extermination-of-the-jews/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [But if you will recall the history of our civil troubles, you will see half the nation bathe itself, out of piety, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/but-if-you-will-recall-the-history-of-our-civil-troubles-you-will-see/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Metallica's the only band i've ever been in. I'm not sure that when it ends in five, ten years, I'm going to put an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/metallica-s-the-only-band-i-ve-ever-been-in-i-m-not-sure-that-when-it/) [Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) Nicholas Roerich > [Without a function, we cease to be. So, I will write till I die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farley-mowat/without-a-function-we-cease-to-be-so-i-will-write-till-i-die/) [Farley Mowat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farley-mowat/) > [We have won an armistice on a single battlefield, not peace in our world. We may not now relax our guard nor cease our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/we-have-won-an-armistice-on-a-single-battlefield-not-peace-in-our/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [My child, seek those things which make for peace. Cease to stir up the King against the Church, and urge upon him a better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-child-seek-those-things-which-make-for-peace-cease-to-stir-up-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To write is to make oneself the echo of what cannot cease speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/to-write-is-to-make-oneself-the-echo-of-what-cannot-cease-speaking/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [When fear ceases to scare you, it cannot stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/when-fear-ceases-to-scare-you-it-cannot-stay/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [He who ceases to pray ceases to prosper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurney-benham/he-who-ceases-to-pray-ceases-to-prosper/) [William Gurney Benham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurney-benham/) > [For we must share, if we would keep, that blessing from above; ceasing to give, we cease to have; such is the law of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-chenevix-trench/for-we-must-share-if-we-would-keep-that-blessing-from-above-ceasing/) [Richard Chenevix Trench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-chenevix-trench/) > [When men are unhappy, they do not imagine they can ever cease to be so; and when some calamity has fallen on them, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/when-men-are-unhappy-they-do-not-imagine-they-can-ever-cease-to-be-so/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) Browse all 1,358 Cease quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History teaches us virtue, but nature never ceases to teachh us vice.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ludwig Borne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/history-teaches-us-virtue-but-nature-never-ceases-to-teachh-us-vice/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cease" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/history-teaches-us-virtue-but-nature-never-ceases-to-teachh-us-vice/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/ludwig-borne-29171_cease_history-teaches-us-virtue-but-nature-nev_2986656.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/ludwig-borne-29171_cease_history-teaches-us-virtue-but-nature-nev_2986656.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/ludwig-borne-29171_cease_history-teaches-us-virtue-but-nature-nev_2986656.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History teaches us virtue, but nature never ceases to teachh us vice.” — Ludwig Borne", "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": "Ludwig Borne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "History teaches us virtue, but nature...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/history-teaches-us-virtue-but-nature-never-ceases-to-teachh-us-vice/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/history-teaches-us-virtue-but-nature-never-ceases-to-teachh-us-vice/#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 } } ] } ```