--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If being alive is not a virtue, then…" description: "\"“If being alive is not a virtue, then there is little virtue in virtue.”\" — Tom Robbins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/tom-robbins-169_alive_if-being-alive-is-not-a-virtue-then-ther_2471632.jpg" --- # If being alive is not a virtue, then there is little… ![“If being alive is not a virtue, then there is little virtue in virtue.” quote by Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/tom-robbins-169_alive_if-being-alive-is-not-a-virtue-then-ther_2471632.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/tom-robbins-169_alive_if-being-alive-is-not-a-virtue-then-ther_2471632.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/tom-robbins-169_alive_if-being-alive-is-not-a-virtue-then-ther_2471632.jpg) > ““If being alive is not a virtue, then there is little virtue in virtue.”” [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If existence isn’t virtuous, then virtue itself lacks meaning, questioning the value of moral concepts. **In simple terms:** Virtue without purpose is empty. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful purpose. Themes meaning virtue existentialism purpose Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal ethics - spiritual practice - creative work - education Key Concepts philosophy nihilism Questions to Reflect On - What gives your virtues meaning? - How do you define a virtuous life? A Different Perspective Virtue may be hollow without deeper purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Alive Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive-virtue-766838/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Little Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-virtue-766840/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-little-766839/) [Virtue Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-virtue-654187/) ## Related quotes > [Vice is nice, but a little virtue won't hurt you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/vice-is-nice-but-a-little-virtue-won-t-hurt-you/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [One wants to live, of course, indeed one only stays alive by virtue of the fear of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/one-wants-to-live-of-course-indeed-one-only-stays-alive-by-virtue-of-3/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“It is impossible not to notice how little the proponents of the ideal of competition have to say about honesty, which is the fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/it-is-impossible-not-to-notice-how-little-the-proponents-of-the-ideal/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [In truth, the care and expense of our fathers aims only at furnishing our heads with knowledge; of judgement and virtue, little news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-truth-the-care-and-expense-of-our-fathers-aims-only-at-furnishing/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“Life for most people compels the exercise of the lower gifts and wastes the precious ones, until it forces us to agree that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/life-for-most-people-compels-the-exercise-of-the-lower-gifts-and/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“With Truth, Reason, and Morality off the board, we then capture their last Rook —that prissy little virtue, Temperance— for she depends on those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-wood/with-truth-reason-and-morality-off-the-board-we-then-capture-their/) [Geoffrey Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-wood/) > [Which is more misshapen,--religion without virtue, or virtue without religion?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/which-is-more-misshapen-religion-without-virtue-or-virtue-without/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Virtue could see to do what virtue would By her own radiant light, though sun and moon Were in the flat sea sunk. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/virtue-could-see-to-do-what-virtue-would-by-her-own-radiant-light/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Happiness is not the reward of virtue, but is virtue itself; nor do we delight in happiness because we restrain from our lusts; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-not-the-reward-of-virtue-but-is-virtue-itself-nor-do-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Virtue is virtue only when it is spontaneous; virtue is virtue only when it is natural, unpractised - when it comes out of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/virtue-is-virtue-only-when-it-is-spontaneous-virtue-is-virtue-only/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [O let us still the secret joy partake, To follow virtue even for virtue's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/o-let-us-still-the-secret-joy-partake-to-follow-virtue-even-for/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [When we see a special reformer we feel like asking him, What right have you, sir, to your own virtue? Is virtue piecemeal?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/when-we-see-a-special-reformer-we-feel-like-asking-him-what-right/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Virtue could see to do what Virtue would by her own radiant light, though sun and moon where in the flat sea sunk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/virtue-could-see-to-do-what-virtue-would-by-her-own-radiant-light-2/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [The only reward of virtue is virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-only-reward-of-virtue-is-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Any of us can achieve virtue, if by virtue we merely mean the avoidance of the vices that do not attract us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-staughton-lynd/any-of-us-can-achieve-virtue-if-by-virtue-we-merely-mean-the/) [Robert Staughton Lynd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-staughton-lynd/) ## More by Tom Robbins > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/love-is-the-ultimate-outlaw-it-just-won-t-adhere-to-any-rules-the/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Anyone who maintains absolute standards of good and evil is dangerous. As dangerous as a maniac with a loaded revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/anyone-who-maintains-absolute-standards-of-good-and-evil-is-dangerous/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“I believe in everything; nothing is sacred. I believe in nothing; everything is sacred. Ha Ha Ho Ho Hee Hee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/i-believe-in-everything-nothing-is-sacred-i-believe-in-nothing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [A sense of humor...is superior to any religion so far devised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/a-sense-of-humor-is-superior-to-any-religion-so-far-devised/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. 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It is not merely the opium of the masses, it is the cyanide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/religion-is-a-paramount-contributor-to-human-misery-it-is-not-merely/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [She continued weeping until the heat of her tear water, the sheer velocity of its flow, finally obscured the already vague circumstances of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/she-continued-weeping-until-the-heat-of-her-tear-water-the-sheer/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-bottom-line-is-that-a-people-are-never-perfect-but-love-can-be-b/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Virtually every advancement made by our species since civilization first peeked out of its nest of stone has been initiated by lone individuals, mavericks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/virtually-every-advancement-made-by-our-species-since-civilization/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [When we accept small wonders, we qualify ourselves to imagine great wonders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/when-we-accept-small-wonders-we-qualify-ourselves-to-imagine-great/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Explore all 994 Tom Robbins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If being alive is not a virtue, then there is little virtue in virtue.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Robbins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/if-being-alive-is-not-a-virtue-then-there-is-little-virtue-in-virtue/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/if-being-alive-is-not-a-virtue-then-there-is-little-virtue-in-virtue/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/tom-robbins-169_alive_if-being-alive-is-not-a-virtue-then-ther_2471632.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/tom-robbins-169_alive_if-being-alive-is-not-a-virtue-then-ther_2471632.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed7/tom-robbins-169_alive_if-being-alive-is-not-a-virtue-then-ther_2471632.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If being alive is not a virtue, then there is little virtue in virtue.” — Tom Robbins", "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": "Tom Robbins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If being alive is not a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/if-being-alive-is-not-a-virtue-then-there-is-little-virtue-in-virtue/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/if-being-alive-is-not-a-virtue-then-there-is-little-virtue-in-virtue/#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 } } ] } ```