--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Virtue is health, vice is sickness." description: "\"Virtue is health, vice is sickness.\" — Petrarch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/petrarch-6716_character_virtue-is-health-vice-is-sickness-231908_2319089.png" --- # Virtue is health, vice is sickness. ![“Virtue is health, vice is sickness.” quote by Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/petrarch-6716_character_virtue-is-health-vice-is-sickness-231908_2319089.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/petrarch-6716_character_virtue-is-health-vice-is-sickness-231908_2319089.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/petrarch-6716_character_virtue-is-health-vice-is-sickness-231908_2319089.png) > “Virtue is health, vice is sickness.” [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Virtue sustains well‑being while vice harms it, likening moral character to physical health. **In simple terms:** Good habits keep you healthy. Key Takeaway Cultivate virtue, avoid vice. Themes morality health character Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal development - leadership - wellness - decision making Key Concepts Ethics human flourishing Questions to Reflect On - How do you practice virtue daily? - What vice harms you most? A Different Perspective Virtue alone may not guarantee happiness if circumstances are adverse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Sickness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickness/) [Vice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Virtue is the health of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/virtue-is-the-health-of-the-soul/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body. As by the one, health is preserved, strengthened, and invigorated: by the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/reading-is-to-the-mind-what-exercise-is-to-the-body-as-by-the-one/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Virtue is the health, true state, natural complexion of the Soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-whichcote/virtue-is-the-health-true-state-natural-complexion-of-the-soul/) [Benjamin Whichcote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-whichcote/) > [Virtue is the health of the soul. It gives a flavor to the smallest leaves of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/virtue-is-the-health-of-the-soul-it-gives-a-flavor-to-the-smallest/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Art is vice. One does not wed it, one rapes it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/art-is-vice-one-does-not-wed-it-one-rapes-it/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [I measure success in terms of the connection with the audience, which we've been able to do in spades. I mean, it's very hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-freston/i-measure-success-in-terms-of-the-connection-with-the-audience-which/) [Tom Freston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-freston/) > [Pride is a vice, which pride itself inclines every man to find in others, and to overlook in himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pride-is-a-vice-which-pride-itself-inclines-every-man-to-find-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [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/) > [Drunkenness does not create vice; it merely brings it into view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/drunkenness-does-not-create-vice-it-merely-brings-it-into-view/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [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 Petrarch > [Five enemies of peace inhabit with us - avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/five-enemies-of-peace-inhabit-with-us-avarice-ambition-envy-anger-and/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [I would have preferred to have been born in any other time than our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/i-would-have-preferred-to-have-been-born-in-any-other-time-than-our/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [The time will come when every change shall cease, This quick revolving wheel shall rest in peace: No summer then shall glow, not winter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/the-time-will-come-when-every-change-shall-cease-this-quick-revolving/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Wanting is not enough, long and you attain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/wanting-is-not-enough-long-and-you-attain-it/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [The aged love what is practical while impetuous youth longs only for what is dazzling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/the-aged-love-what-is-practical-while-impetuous-youth-longs-only-for/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Oh, may she deign to stand atmy bedside When I come to die; and may she call to me And draw me to her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/oh-may-she-deign-to-stand-atmy-bedside-when-i-come-to-die-and-may-she/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [How difficult it is to save the bark of reputation from the rocks of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/how-difficult-it-is-to-save-the-bark-of-reputation-from-the-rocks-of/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Do you suppose there is any living man so unreasonable that if he found himself stricken with a dangerous ailment he would not anxiously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/do-you-suppose-there-is-any-living-man-so-unreasonable-that-if-he/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Sameness is the mother of disgust, variety the cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/sameness-is-the-mother-of-disgust-variety-the-cure/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [He loves but lightly who his love can tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/he-loves-but-lightly-who-his-love-can-tell/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/rarely-do-great-beauty-and-great-virtue-dwell-together/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [It is better to will the good than to know the truth,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/it-is-better-to-will-the-good-than-to-know-the-truth/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [For death betimes is comfort, not dismay, and who can rightly die needs no delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/for-death-betimes-is-comfort-not-dismay-and-who-can-rightly-die-needs/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [“I feed my heart with sighs, that's all it asks, I live on tears, I think I'm born to weep; I don't complain of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/i-feed-my-heart-with-sighs-that-s-all-it-asks-i-live-on-tears-i-think/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [Often have I wondered with much curiosity as to our coming into this world and what will follow our departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/often-have-i-wondered-with-much-curiosity-as-to-our-coming-into-this/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) [Explore all 98 Petrarch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) ## 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 is health, vice is sickness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Petrarch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/virtue-is-health-vice-is-sickness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/virtue-is-health-vice-is-sickness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/petrarch-6716_character_virtue-is-health-vice-is-sickness-231908_2319089.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/petrarch-6716_character_virtue-is-health-vice-is-sickness-231908_2319089.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/petrarch-6716_character_virtue-is-health-vice-is-sickness-231908_2319089.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Virtue is health, vice is sickness.” — Petrarch", "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": "Petrarch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Virtue is health, vice is sickness.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/virtue-is-health-vice-is-sickness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/virtue-is-health-vice-is-sickness/#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 } } ] } ```