"But, O my soul, sink not into despair,
Virtue is near thee, and with gentle hand
Would now embrace thee, hovers o'er thine head." -On Virtue by Phillis Wheatley
Can we honestly say that we have Virtue? For someone to be virtuous, it would mean behaving in such a way with high standards. Surely, we would all love to say that we are holding ourselves at that level, but can we say that we are holding ourselves to that level every single day?
Wheatley has also written another poem titled "On Virtue," and it appears to be written in a way to show that the individual is looking to be shown how to be virtuous, or hold herself to higher standards. How to behave in a way that would be virtuous.
Can we actually pinpoint what would be considered virtuous behavior? I would like to think that we can pinpoint exact actions, but honestly I don't think that we can because the actions that can be considered virtuous might be dependent on the individual. For someone to behave in such a way might be different for someone else.
Cultures have a big influence on what is virtuous and what is not as well. Religions, areas of the country, gender, age, family values -- all of these influence our definitions of virtue.
ReplyDeleteI think virtue has a lot to do with action. Though I agree with you Samantha that is can be hard to pinpoint what exactly is virtuous, I think we could definitely say for sure that it is not something passive. To be virtuous, would mean that there is some sort of profit from what we do or do not do, but I think the later leans more towards unprofitability in most cases. :)
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