Character Quote by Veronica Roth

“I tick off each quality in my mind as he says it -- fear, low intelligence, dishonesty, aggression, selfishness. He is talking about the…

— Veronica Roth

And he’s right to say that every faction loses something when it gains a virtue: the Dauntless, brave but cruel; the Erudite, intelligent but…

— Veronica Roth

“Dauntless, brave but cruel; the Erudite, intelligent but vain; the Amity, peaceful but passive; the Candor, honest but inconsiderate; the Abnegation, selfless but stifling.”

— Veronica Roth

“What instances must pass before them of ardent, disinterested, self-denying attachment, of heroism, fortitude, patience, resignation: of all the conflicts and all the sacrifices…

— Jane Austen

“Virtue becomes unhealthy if it is not softened by some misdemeanours, and faith quickly becomes cruel if it is not subdued by certain doubts.”

— Amin Maalouf

“The philosophers say that the passions are too lively, too fiery; in truth they are weak and languid. All around one sees the mass…

— Charles Fourier

“Thus, we tend to think of Us as noble, loyal, and composed of distinctive individuals whose failings are due to circumstance. Thems, in contrast,…

— Robert M. Sapolsky

“Virtue is too passive, too narrow. Virtue can motivate individuals, but for groups, societies, a whole civilisation, it’s a weak force. Nations are never…

— Ian McEwan

“Ultimately, we lacked the courage to face up to our own true selves—our bare forms noble though petty, everything though nothing, almighty though powerless,…

— Sakyo Komatsu

“It may be observed, that provinces amid the vicissitudes to which they are subject, pass from order into confusion, and afterward recur to a…

— Niccolò Machiavelli

“It is pity in which the state of nature takes the place of laws, morals and virtues, with the added advantage that no one…

— Jean-Jacques Rousseau

“Still, to slaughter fellow-citizens, to betray friends, to be devoid of honour, pity, and religion, cannot be counted as merits, for these are means…

— Niccolò Machiavelli