Bertrand Russell Quotes on Virtue
Bertrand Russell was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and political activist whose work is foundational to 20th-century analytic philosophy. This page collects quotes attributed to Bertrand Russell on the topic of virtue, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
-
“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”
What I Believe, 1925 -
“Religions, which condemn the pleasures of sense, drive men to seek the pleasures of power. Throughout history power has been the vice of the ascetic.”
1930s | The New York Herald-Tribune Magazine (6 March 1938) -
“I think modern educational theorists are inclined to attach too much importance to the negative virtue of not interfering with children, and too little to the positive merit of enjoying their company.”
In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays(1935) | Ch. 12: Education and Discipline -
“No nation was ever so virtuous as each believes itself, and none was ever so wicked as each believes the other.”
1910s | Justice in War-Time (1916), p. 70