--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What's virtue in a man can't be virtue in…" description: "\"What's virtue in a man can't be virtue in a cat.\" — Mary Abigail Dodge" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/mary-abigail-dodge-35705_cat_what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-i_687133.jpg" --- # What's virtue in a man can't be virtue in a cat. ![“What's virtue in a man can't be virtue in a cat.” quote by Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/mary-abigail-dodge-35705_cat_what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-i_687133.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/mary-abigail-dodge-35705_cat_what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-i_687133.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/mary-abigail-dodge-35705_cat_what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-i_687133.jpg) > “What's virtue in a man can't be virtue in a cat.” [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) ## 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 species-specific; moral excellence in humans does not automatically apply to animals. **In simple terms:** Human virtue isn’t universal. Key Takeaway Recognize differences in moral expectations. Themes ethics species morality human-animal distinction Mood thoughtful critical philosophical Type ethical literary When to use this quote - discussing animal rights - teaching ethics - writing literature - debating pet ownership - considering AI ethics Key Concepts anthropocentrism moral relativism speciesism Questions to Reflect On - Do you think any animal can embody human-like virtue? - How do we judge moral behavior across species? A Different Perspective Animals may exhibit virtues differently, challenging the premise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [“The virtue of man lies in his ability to correct his mistakes and continually make a new man of himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-virtue-of-man-lies-in-his-ability-to-correct-his-mistakes-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No, no; 'tis all men's office to speak patience To those that wring under the load of sorrow, But no man's virtue nor sufficiency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/no-no-tis-all-men-s-office-to-speak-patience-to-those-that-wring/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The greatest virtue of man is perhaps curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-greatest-virtue-of-man-is-perhaps-curiosity/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Beware of the virtue which a man boasts is his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/beware-of-the-virtue-which-a-man-boasts-is-his/) [Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/) > [Virtue in a man doesn't make you want to grab him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-thomas/virtue-in-a-man-doesn-t-make-you-want-to-grab-him/) [Caitlin Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-thomas/) > [Audacity in wooing is a great virtue, but a man must measure even his virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/audacity-in-wooing-is-a-great-virtue-but-a-man-must-measure-even-his/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [To me it seems that liberty and virtue were made for each other. If any man wish to enslave his country, nothing is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/to-me-it-seems-that-liberty-and-virtue-were-made-for-each-other-if/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [What virtue is there in a man who demonstrates goodness because he has been bred to it? It is his habit from youth. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-raybourn/what-virtue-is-there-in-a-man-who-demonstrates-goodness-because-he/) [Deanna Raybourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-raybourn/) > [“Man was created with an aspiration for significance, which is a virtue. Man can pervert that drive into a lust for power, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul-2/man-was-created-with-an-aspiration-for-significance-which-is-a-virtue/) [R.C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul-2/) > [“When I die, I hope to go to heaven-- whatever the hell that is-- and I want to be able to afford the price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/when-i-die-i-hope-to-go-to-heaven-whatever-the-hell-that-is-and-i/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Were there no desire there would be no virtue, and because one man desires what another does not, who shall say whether the child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/were-there-no-desire-there-would-be-no-virtue-and-because-one-man/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [Heaven made virtue; man, the appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/heaven-made-virtue-man-the-appearance/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [They who disbelieve in virtue because man has never been found perfect, might as reasonably deny the sun because it is not always noon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/they-who-disbelieve-in-virtue-because-man-has-never-been-found/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [I want to be prepared to claim the greatest virtue of all - that I was a man who made money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/i-want-to-be-prepared-to-claim-the-greatest-virtue-of-all-that-i-was/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The virtue of man is, in a word, the great proof of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-virtue-of-man-is-in-a-word-the-great-proof-of-god/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) ## More by Mary Abigail Dodge > [One ought not to write for money, but I consider it a first duty after one has written to exact the highest possible price.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/one-ought-not-to-write-for-money-but-i-consider-it-a-first-duty-after/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Man has subdued the world, but woman has subdued man. Mind and muscle have won his victories; love and loveliness have gained hers. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/man-has-subdued-the-world-but-woman-has-subdued-man-mind-and-muscle/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Men as yet need some help to their imagination. There remains still room for a little illusion. It is better for men, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/men-as-yet-need-some-help-to-their-imagination-there-remains-still/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Man pays deference to woman instinctively, involuntarily, not because she is beautiful or truthful or wise or foolish or proper, but because she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/man-pays-deference-to-woman-instinctively-involuntarily-not-because/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [People cry out, and deplore the unremunerative employment of woman. The true want is the other way. Women really trained, and capable of good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/people-cry-out-and-deplore-the-unremunerative-employment-of-woman-the/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [The war between authors and publishers has been a conflict of ages. On the one side, the publisher has been looked upon as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/the-war-between-authors-and-publishers-has-been-a-conflict-of-ages-on/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Christ made no distinction, but opened the door wide to woman as to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/christ-made-no-distinction-but-opened-the-door-wide-to-woman-as-to-man/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [It is the crushed grape that gives out the blood-red wine: it is the suffering soul that breathes the sweetest melodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/it-is-the-crushed-grape-that-gives-out-the-blood-red-wine-it-is-the/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Whatever an author puts between the two covers of his book is public property; whatever of himself he does not put there is his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/whatever-an-author-puts-between-the-two-covers-of-his-book-is-public/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Love me, and tell me so sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/love-me-and-tell-me-so-sometimes/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [Genius is expansive, irresistible, and irresistibly expansive. If it is in you, no cords can confine it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/genius-is-expansive-irresistible-and-irresistibly-expansive-if-it-is/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) > [There is generally no such thing as duty to the people who do it. They simply take life as it comes, meeting, not, shirking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/there-is-generally-no-such-thing-as-duty-to-the-people-who-do-it-they/) [Mary Abigail Dodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) [Explore all 13 Mary Abigail Dodge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/) ## More Cat quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [One reason why my memory decays is that I have three cats, all so loving and insistent that they play cat's-cradle with every train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/one-reason-why-my-memory-decays-is-that-i-have-three-cats-all-so/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [If you ask me to tell you anything about the nature of what lies beyond the phaneron… my answer is “How should I know?”……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/if-you-ask-me-to-tell-you-anything-about-the-nature-of-what-lies/) [Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/) > [Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou ow'st the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-man-no-more-than-this-consider-him-well-thou-ow-st-the-worm-no/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [Kittens can happen to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gallico/kittens-can-happen-to-anyone/) [Paul Gallico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gallico/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“All right, you deadly little ghostlings,” I muttered. “Mama says go back to bed! - Cat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/all-right-you-deadly-little-ghostlings-i-muttered-mama-says-go-back/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Man wishes woman to be peaceable, but in fact she is essentially warlike, like the cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-wishes-woman-to-be-peaceable-but-in-fact-she-is-essentially/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There are videos I used to take at home, pretending to be a newscaster, interviewing the teapot or my house cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-wagner/there-are-videos-i-used-to-take-at-home-pretending-to-be-a-newscaster/) [Alex Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-wagner/) [Browse all 2,996 Cat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What's virtue in a man can't be virtue in a cat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Abigail Dodge" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-in-a-cat/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cat" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-in-a-cat/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/mary-abigail-dodge-35705_cat_what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-i_687133.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/mary-abigail-dodge-35705_cat_what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-i_687133.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c2/mary-abigail-dodge-35705_cat_what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-i_687133.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What's virtue in a man can't be virtue in a cat.” — Mary Abigail Dodge", "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": "Mary Abigail Dodge", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-abigail-dodge/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What's virtue in a man can't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-in-a-cat/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-abigail-dodge/what-s-virtue-in-a-man-can-t-be-virtue-in-a-cat/#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 } } ] } ```