"Nobody should trust their virtue with necessity, the force of which is never known till it is felt, and it is therefore one of the first duties to avoid the temptation of it"

In this quote, Mary Wortley Montagu is alerting against relying on need to promote one's moral worths. She argues that the power of need is unpredictable and can just be really understood when one is confronted with it. Therefore, it is crucial to resist the temptation of need and not put one's virtue at threat. Montagu thinks that it is an individual's duty to actively prevent circumstances where they might be required to jeopardize their morals. By doing so, one can keep their stability and avoid the prospective consequences of giving in to requirement. In general, Montagu stresses the significance of staying real to one's principles and not enabling external aspects to sway them.