"The virtues, like the Muses, are always seen in groups. A good principle was never found solitary in any breast"
About this Quote
Virtue, Buddha suggests, is less a lone hero than an ecosystem. The line borrows a Greek image - the Muses arriving as a chorus - to make a practical point about character: ethical life is not built on a single flagship trait you can display like a medal. If generosity is real, it tends to drag patience along with it; if compassion is genuine, it usually recruits restraint, humility, and clarity. One good principle, standing by itself, is often just branding.
The subtext is quietly polemical against moral cherry-picking. People love to claim one shining value (honor, truth-telling, devotion) while excusing the rest, as if a solitary virtue can absolve cruelty, greed, or vanity. Buddha’s phrasing punctures that self-flattery. It also carries a diagnostic edge: when a person advertises a single principle loudly, it may be compensating for the absence of the supporting cast. Virtue that doesn’t proliferate is suspect.
Context matters: in early Buddhist teaching, ethics (sila) is inseparable from mental discipline and wisdom. Conduct isn’t a separate “moral wing” of the self; it’s braided with attention, intention, and understanding of craving. That’s why the claim lands with the weight of leadership: it’s not a Hallmark sentiment but a warning about spiritual shortcuts. If the mind is still run by grasping, any “principle” you hold will be lonely - and loneliness, here, is another name for delusion.
The subtext is quietly polemical against moral cherry-picking. People love to claim one shining value (honor, truth-telling, devotion) while excusing the rest, as if a solitary virtue can absolve cruelty, greed, or vanity. Buddha’s phrasing punctures that self-flattery. It also carries a diagnostic edge: when a person advertises a single principle loudly, it may be compensating for the absence of the supporting cast. Virtue that doesn’t proliferate is suspect.
Context matters: in early Buddhist teaching, ethics (sila) is inseparable from mental discipline and wisdom. Conduct isn’t a separate “moral wing” of the self; it’s braided with attention, intention, and understanding of craving. That’s why the claim lands with the weight of leadership: it’s not a Hallmark sentiment but a warning about spiritual shortcuts. If the mind is still run by grasping, any “principle” you hold will be lonely - and loneliness, here, is another name for delusion.
Quote Details
| Topic | Ethics & Morality |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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