--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All of us are experts at practicing…" description: "\"All of us are experts at practicing virtue at a distance.\" — Theodore Hesburgh" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4a/theodore-hesburgh-27606_character_all-of-us-are-experts-at-practicing-virt_3139433.png" --- # All of us are experts at practicing virtue at a distance. ![“All of us are experts at practicing virtue at a distance.” quote by Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4a/theodore-hesburgh-27606_character_all-of-us-are-experts-at-practicing-virt_3139433.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4a/theodore-hesburgh-27606_character_all-of-us-are-experts-at-practicing-virt_3139433.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4a/theodore-hesburgh-27606_character_all-of-us-are-experts-at-practicing-virt_3139433.png) > “All of us are experts at practicing virtue at a distance.” [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People claim moral superiority from afar, yet true virtue requires direct action and personal responsibility. **In simple terms:** Virtue is practiced by doing, not just talking. Key Takeaway Act on your values instead of just theorizing. Themes ethics personal responsibility action hypocrisy Mood thoughtful critical Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - volunteering - leadership - community service - personal development Key Concepts moral philosophy behavioral consistency Questions to Reflect On - What actions demonstrate your virtues? - Do you avoid responsibility by staying distant? A Different Perspective Convenient moralizing can replace genuine effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance/) [Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [Experts Practicing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts-practicing-5587723/) [Practicing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practicing/) [Practicing Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practicing-virtue-4969788/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-distance-5587722/) ## Related quotes > [“It is not enough for us to perform the works of virtue, exercising obedience, excepting poverty or disgrace or practicing humility or detachment in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/it-is-not-enough-for-us-to-perform-the-works-of-virtue-exercising/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Full of love for all things in the world, practicing virtue, in order to benefit others, this man alone is happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/full-of-love-for-all-things-in-the-world-practicing-virtue-in-order/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“Lead by example. That’s what I learnt and now I was practicing that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arun-prabhu-aradhya/lead-by-example-that-s-what-i-learnt-and-now-i-was-practicing-that/) [Arun Prabhu- aradhya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arun-prabhu-aradhya/) > [Don't quit, just keep practicing as long as you love doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/don-t-quit-just-keep-practicing-as-long-as-you-love-doing-it/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [When I'm not at the keyboard, I'm generally reading, practicing tai chi or middle eastern dance, or cooking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-zettel/when-i-m-not-at-the-keyboard-i-m-generally-reading-practicing-tai-chi/) [Sarah Zettel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-zettel/) > [What if you're practicing wrong? Then you get very good at doing something wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-leonard/what-if-you-re-practicing-wrong-then-you-get-very-good-at-doing/) [George Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-leonard/) > [By itself, practice does not make perfect. Those of us with a ten-year-old son practicing the trumpet may understand that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-hanley/by-itself-practice-does-not-make-perfect-those-of-us-with-a-ten-year/) [Daniel Hanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-hanley/) > [I tried practicing for a few weeks and ended up playing too fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-desmond/i-tried-practicing-for-a-few-weeks-and-ended-up-playing-too-fast/) [Paul Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-desmond/) > [“Together as a church we are practicing, learning the strokes that teach us to live our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tish-harrison-warren/together-as-a-church-we-are-practicing-learning-the-strokes-that/) [Tish Harrison Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tish-harrison-warren/) > [“Joy is a practice, not an involuntary state.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/joy-is-a-practice-not-an-involuntary-state/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [There is no such thing as getting anything easy. Trust and believe. Even if you're good at what you do, you still should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jones/there-is-no-such-thing-as-getting-anything-easy-trust-and-believe/) [Leslie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jones/) > [I'm practicing a kind of meandering faith, or faithful meandering. I just trust that something is coming. I don't know what it is. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jones/i-m-practicing-a-kind-of-meandering-faith-or-faithful-meandering-i/) [Sarah Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jones/) > [I was the first to win a major with a belly putter, and I've spent hours practicing that way, so I hope they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keegan-bradley/i-was-the-first-to-win-a-major-with-a-belly-putter-and-i-ve-spent/) [Keegan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keegan-bradley/) > [“Start the daily practice of joyful living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/start-the-daily-practice-of-joyful-living/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [The very best players, when they are practicing, put everything they've got into it. But then they leave it for a while. And it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/the-very-best-players-when-they-are-practicing-put-everything-they-ve/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) ## More by Theodore Hesburgh > [My basic principle is that you don't make decisions because they are easy; you don't make them because they are cheap; you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/my-basic-principle-is-that-you-don-t-make-decisions-because-they-are/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [There is no conflict between science and theology, except where there is bad science or bad theology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/there-is-no-conflict-between-science-and-theology-except-where-there/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [My basic principle is that you don't make decisions because they are cheap; you make them because they're right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/my-basic-principle-is-that-you-don-t-make-decisions-because-they-are-2/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [Bill Walton, UH Volleyball coach, after his player kept looking at him on the bench every time the ball hit the floor...Next time you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/bill-walton-uh-volleyball-coach-after-his-player-kept-looking-at-him/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [It is easier to exemplify values than teach them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/it-is-easier-to-exemplify-values-than-teach-them/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [A decade after an average athlete graduates, everyone will have forgotten when and where he played. But every time he speaks, everyone will know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/a-decade-after-an-average-athlete-graduates-everyone-will-have/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [Once He created the Big Bang... He could have envisioned it going in billions of directions as it evolved, including billions of life-forms and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/once-he-created-the-big-bang-he-could-have-envisioned-it-going-in/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/you-can-t-blow-an-uncertain-trumpet/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [Anyone who refuses to speak out off campus does not deserve to be listened to on campus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/anyone-who-refuses-to-speak-out-off-campus-does-not-deserve-to-be/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [Faith is not an easy virtue; but, in the broad world of a person's total voyage through time to eternity, faith is not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/faith-is-not-an-easy-virtue-but-in-the-broad-world-of-a-person-s/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [I'll have another beer. I'm not driving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/i-ll-have-another-beer-i-m-not-driving/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [The melting pot failed to function in one crucial area. Religions and nationalities, however different, generally learned to live together, even to grow together,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/the-melting-pot-failed-to-function-in-one-crucial-area-religions-and/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/the-very-essence-of-leadership-is-that-you-have-to-have-vision-you/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [Voting is a civic sacrament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/voting-is-a-civic-sacrament/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) > [I can think of no better way of redeeming this tragic world today than love and laughter. Too many of the young have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/i-can-think-of-no-better-way-of-redeeming-this-tragic-world-today/) [Theodore Hesburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) [Explore all 20 Theodore Hesburgh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "All of us are experts at practicing virtue at a distance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore Hesburgh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/all-of-us-are-experts-at-practicing-virtue-at-a-distance/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/all-of-us-are-experts-at-practicing-virtue-at-a-distance/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4a/theodore-hesburgh-27606_character_all-of-us-are-experts-at-practicing-virt_3139433.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4a/theodore-hesburgh-27606_character_all-of-us-are-experts-at-practicing-virt_3139433.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4a/theodore-hesburgh-27606_character_all-of-us-are-experts-at-practicing-virt_3139433.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All of us are experts at practicing virtue at a distance.” — Theodore Hesburgh", "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": "Theodore Hesburgh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-hesburgh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All of us are experts at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/all-of-us-are-experts-at-practicing-virtue-at-a-distance/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-hesburgh/all-of-us-are-experts-at-practicing-virtue-at-a-distance/#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 } } ] } ```