--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Virtue and vice, evil and good, are…" description: "\"Virtue and vice, evil and good, are siblings, or next-door neighbors, Easy to make mistakes, hard to tell them apart.\" — Ovid" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/ovid-276_character_virtue-and-vice-evil-and-good-are-siblin_1226583.png" --- # Virtue and vice, evil and good, are siblings, or next-door… ![“Virtue and vice, evil and good, are siblings, or next-door neighbors, Easy to make mistakes, hard to tell them apart.” quote by Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/ovid-276_character_virtue-and-vice-evil-and-good-are-siblin_1226583.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/ovid-276_character_virtue-and-vice-evil-and-good-are-siblin_1226583.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/ovid-276_character_virtue-and-vice-evil-and-good-are-siblin_1226583.png) > “Virtue and vice, evil and good, are siblings, or next-door neighbors, Easy to make mistakes, hard to tell them apart.” [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Virtue and vice are closely linked, making moral judgment difficult. **In simple terms:** Good and bad are often indistinguishable. Key Takeaway Recognize subtle moral nuances. Themes ethics perception human nature Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal decisions - legal judgments - social interactions Key Concepts moral relativism dualism Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate right from wrong when they seem similar? - Can you recall a time when a small mistake led to a larger moral conflict? A Different Perspective Moral clarity can be elusive in complex situations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil And Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-and-good/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Making mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-mistakes/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Next door neighbors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-door-neighbors/) [Sibling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sibling/) [Siblings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siblings/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [“What blurt is this about virtue and about vice? Evil propels me and reform of evil propels me, I stand indifferent, My gait is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/what-blurt-is-this-about-virtue-and-about-vice-evil-propels-me-and/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Be good to your siblings...They're your closest link to your past & the ones most likely to be there with you into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-good-to-your-siblings-they-re-your-closest-link-to-your-past-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Evil and good are God's right hand and left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/evil-and-good-are-god-s-right-hand-and-left/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Evil and good are everywhere, like shadow and substance; inseparable (for men) yet not hostile, only opposed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/evil-and-good-are-everywhere-like-shadow-and-substance-inseparable/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [If we do wrong and no harm comes of it, we are not thereby justified. If we did evil and good came of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-we-do-wrong-and-no-harm-comes-of-it-we-are-not-thereby-justified/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“Not evil. Not any more evil than the colored trees are good.Evil and good reside in the heart, not in trees and water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/not-evil-not-any-more-evil-than-the-colored-trees-are-good-evil-and/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [The distance between Evil and Good is a vast expanse in which many can exist without being either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amish-tripathi/the-distance-between-evil-and-good-is-a-vast-expanse-in-which-many/) [Amish Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amish-tripathi/) > [It is not easy to be in the midst... Ever since, all my life I saw how critics roles between two men... How oppressor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-reolope/it-is-not-easy-to-be-in-the-midst-ever-since-all-my-life-i-saw-how/) [Janet Reolope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-reolope/) > [Life is not at all what you might think it to be A simple tale where each thing has its history It's much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/life-is-not-at-all-what-you-might-think-it-to-be-a-simple-tale-where/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [Tell me,' asked Stas, 'what is a wicked deed?' 'If anyone takes away Kali's cow,' he answered after a brief reflection, 'that then is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/tell-me-asked-stas-what-is-a-wicked-deed-if-anyone-takes-away-kali-s/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [All evil and good is petty before Nature. Personally, we take comfort from this, that there is a universe to admire that cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/all-evil-and-good-is-petty-before-nature-personally-we-take-comfort/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“Over the last few weeks, some newsgroups have been full of tales of war and battle fleets, of billions dying in the clash of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/over-the-last-few-weeks-some-newsgroups-have-been-full-of-tales-of/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“Evil and Good are things in their own essebce and not made good or evil by the giver. but if he gives you good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gordon-byron/evil-and-good-are-things-in-their-own-essebce-and-not-made-good-or/) [George Gordon Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gordon-byron/) > [Im the product of Evil and good, both had sex and gave birth to me but I prefer being good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oris-shakur/im-the-product-of-evil-and-good-both-had-sex-and-gave-birth-to-me-but/) Oris Shakur > [You can put whatever you want inside evil and good in morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-noe/you-can-put-whatever-you-want-inside-evil-and-good-in-morality/) [Gaspar Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-noe/) ## More by Ovid > [Every woman thinks herself attractive; even the plainest is satisfied with the charms she deems that she possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/every-woman-thinks-herself-attractive-even-the-plainest-is-satisfied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Time is generally the best doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/time-is-generally-the-best-doctor/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [It is convenient that there be gods, and, as it is convenient, let us believe there are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-convenient-that-there-be-gods-and-as-it-is-convenient-let-us/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I hate a woman who offers herself because she ought to do so, and cold and dry thinks of her sewing when making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-hate-a-woman-who-offers-herself-because-she-ought-to-do-so-and-cold/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [The sea's vast depths lie open to the fish; Wherever the breezes blow the bird may fly; So to the brave man every land's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/the-sea-s-vast-depths-lie-open-to-the-fish-wherever-the-breezes-blow/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Rare is the virtue that's not ruled by Fortune, That stands unshaken even when Fortune flees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/rare-is-the-virtue-that-s-not-ruled-by-fortune-that-stands-unshaken/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Thus all things altered. Nothing dies. And here and there the unbodied spirit flies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/thus-all-things-altered-nothing-dies-and-here-and-there-the-unbodied/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [How little is the promise of the child fulfilled in the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/how-little-is-the-promise-of-the-child-fulfilled-in-the-man/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Judgement of beauty can err, what with the wine and the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/judgement-of-beauty-can-err-what-with-the-wine-and-the-dark/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Leave war to others; 'tis Protesilaus' part of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/leave-war-to-others-tis-protesilaus-part-of-love/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Remove but the temptations of leisure, and the bow of Cupid will lose its effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/remove-but-the-temptations-of-leisure-and-the-bow-of-cupid-will-lose/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) [Explore all 771 Ovid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## 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. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. 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": "Virtue and vice, evil and good, are siblings, or next-door neighbors, Easy to make mistakes, hard to tell them apart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ovid" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/virtue-and-vice-evil-and-good-are-siblings-or-next-door-neighbors/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/virtue-and-vice-evil-and-good-are-siblings-or-next-door-neighbors/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/ovid-276_character_virtue-and-vice-evil-and-good-are-siblin_1226583.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/ovid-276_character_virtue-and-vice-evil-and-good-are-siblin_1226583.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/ovid-276_character_virtue-and-vice-evil-and-good-are-siblin_1226583.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Virtue and vice, evil and good, are siblings, or next-door neighbors, Easy to make mistakes, hard to tell…” — Ovid", "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": "Ovid", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Virtue and vice, evil and good,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/virtue-and-vice-evil-and-good-are-siblings-or-next-door-neighbors/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/virtue-and-vice-evil-and-good-are-siblings-or-next-door-neighbors/#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 } } ] } ```