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William Shakespeare 699
English playwright and poet 1564–1616Related quotes

Letter to Abigail Adams (3 July 1776)
1770s
Context: I am surprised at the suddenness as well as the greatness of this revolution... It is the will of Heaven that the two countries should be sundered forever. It may be the will of Heaven that America shall suffer calamities still more wasting, and distresses yet more dreadful. If this is to be the case it will have this good effect at least. It will inspire us with many virtues which we have not, and correct many errors, follies, and vices which threaten to disturb, dishonor, and destroy us. The furnace of affliction produces refinement in states as well as individuals. And the new Governments we are assuming in every part will require a purification from our vices, and an augmentation of our virtues, or they will be no blessings. The people will have unbounded power, and the people are extremely addicted to corruption and venality, as well as the great. But I must submit all my hopes and fears to an overruling Providence, in which, unfashionable as the faith may be, I firmly believe.

“Balancing the budget is like protecting your virtue , you have to learn how to say no.”
Interview, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on 01/03/1975 as shown on YouTube The Tonight Show video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNmnmdtcdcg
1970s

“The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.”
1840s, Essays: First Series (1841), Friendship
Variant: The only way to have a friend is to be one.

2000s, 2001, Letters to a Young Contrarian (2001)

“Virtue (or the man of virtue) is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.”
Source: The Analects, Chapter IV

Life in the Industry: A Musician's Diary

As quoted in The Seven Deadly Sins (2000) by Steven Schwartz, p. 23

Source: Psychotherapy, East and West (1961), p. 9