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61 " In the early twelfth century century the Virgin had been the supreme protectress of civilisation. She had taught a race of tough and ruthless barbarians the virtues of tenderness and compassion. The great cathedrals of the Middle Ages were her dwelling places upon earth. In the Renaissance, while remaining the Queen of Heaven, she became also the human mother in whom everyone could recognise qualities of warmth and love and approachability...The stabilising, comprehensive religions of the world, the religions which penetrate to every part of a man's being--in Egypt, India or China--gave the female principle of creation at least as much importance as the male, and wouldn't have taken seriously a philosophy that failed to include them both...It's a curious fact that theall-male religions have produced no religious imagery--in most cases have positively forbidden it. The great religious art of the world is deeply involved with the female principle. "
― Kenneth Clark , Civilisation
62 " One of the problems with all of this is that not all narratives are equal. Imagine, to take a silly example, that someone told you story after story extolling the virtues of eating dog shit. You've been told these stories since you were a child. You believe them. You eat dog shit hotdogs, dog shit ice cream, General Tso's dog shit. Sooner or later, if you are exposed to some other foods, you might figure out that dog shit really doesn't taste good. Or if you cling too tightly to these stories (or if your enculturation is so strong that dog shit actually does taste good to you), the diet might make you sick or kill you. To make this example a little less silly, substitute the word pesticides for dog shit. Or, for that matter, substitute Big Mac, Whopper, or Coca Cola. "
― Derrick Jensen , Endgame, Vol. 1: The Problem of Civilization
63 " Repudiating the virtues of your world, criminals hopelessly agree to organize a forbidden universe. They agree to live in it. The air there is nauseating: they can breathe it. "
― Jean Genet , The Thief's Journal
64 " ... it is not the taste considered in itself, that we hold to our lips, and you can no more understand the virtues of a wine through a blind tasting than you could understand the virtues of a woman through a blindfold kiss. "
― Roger Scruton
65 " Not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point which means at the point of highest reality. "
66 " Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point. "
67 " Courage is the footstool of the Virtues upon which they stand. "
68 " By associating with good and evil persons a man acquires the virtues and vices which they possess even as the wind blowing over different places takes along good and bad odors. "
69 " He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire. "
70 " When one clings to the myth of superiority one must constantly overlook the virtues and abilities of others. "
71 " Leadership experts and the public alike extol the virtues of transformational leaders - those who set out bold objectives and take risks to change the world. We tend to downplay 'transactional' leaders, whose goals are more modest, as mere managers. "
72 " My father Sam, by his lifelong example, displayed for me the virtues of an honest day's work and of great personal courage. "
73 " Nothing will be beyond our reach when we make the flames of creating positive deeds flare up across the country with the virtues of the young vanguard as the initial spark and bring into full play the mounting vigour of the millions of young people. "
74 " We need a type of patriotism that recognizes the virtues of those who are opposed to us. "
75 " One of the virtues of being very young is that you don't let the facts get in the way of your imagination. "
― Sam Levenson