Spiritual Quotes

Goodness/Virtue

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. —I Thessalonians 5:21 (KJV)

Unto the pure all things are pure. —Titus 1:15 (KJV)

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. —Psalms 37:23–24 (KJV)

Goodness is the only investment that never fails. —Henry David Thoreau

Sweet are the uses of adversity, .
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head; .
And this our life exempt from public haunt.
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones and good in every thing. .
—Shakespeare, As You Like It II:i:12,

To live to our highest in ail things that pertain to us, to lend a hand as best we can to all others for this same end, to aid in righting the wrongs that cross our path by means of pointing the wrongdoer to a better way, and thus aiding him in becoming a power for good, to remain in nature always sweet and simple and humble, and therefore strong, to open ourselves fully and to keep ourselves as fit channels for the Divine Power to work through us, to open ourselves, and to keep our faces always to the light, to love all things and to stand in awe or fear of nothing save our own wrong-doing, to recognize the good lying at the heart of all things, waiting for expression all in its own good way and time—this will make our part in life’s great and as yet not fully understood play truly glorious, and we need then stand in fear of nothing, life nor death. —Ralph Waldo Trine, Character-Building Thought Power

Always remember that the great and strong character is the one who is ever ready to sacrifice the present pleasure for the future good…. Life is not, we may say, for mere passing pleasure, but for the highest unfoldment that one can attain to, the noblest character that one can grow, and for the greatest service that one can render to all mankind. In this, however, we will find the highest pleasure, for in this the only real pleasure lies. —Ralph Waldo Trine, Character-Building Thought Power

We speak of good and evil, but Good is a reality, something tangible, while Evil is found to be simply a negative condition, the absence of Good. Evil is sometimes thought to be a very real condition, but it has no principle, no vitality, no life. We know this because it can always be destroyed by Good; just as Truth destroys Error and light destroys darkness, so Evil vanishes when Good appears. —Charles Haanel, The Master Key System

One of the most beneficial practices I know of is that of looking for the good in everyone and everything, for there is good in all things. We encourage a person by seeing his good qualities and we also help ourselves by looking for them. We gain their good wishes, a most valuable asset sometimes. We get back what we give out. The time comes when most all of us need encouragement; need buoying up. So form the habit of encouraging others, and you will find it a wonderful tonic for both those encouraged and yourself, for you will get back encouraging and uplifting thoughts. —Theron Q. Dumont, The Power of Concentration

Wouldst thou have men speak good of thee? speak good of them. And when thou hast learned to speak good of them, try to do good unto them, and thus thou wilt reap in return their speaking good of thee. —The Golden Sayings of Epictetus

I am by Nature made for my own good; not for my own evil. —The Golden Sayings of Epictetus

Even as the Sun doth not wait for prayers and incantations to rise, but shines forth and is welcomed by all: so thou also wait not for clapping of hands and shouts and praise to do thy duty; nay, do good of thine own accord, and thou wilt be loved like the Sun. —The Golden Sayings of Epictetus

...whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. —Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

There is but one Source of being. This Source is the living fountain of all good, be it life, love, wisdom, power—the Giver of all good gifts. This source and you are connected, every moment of your existence. You have power to draw on this Source for all of good you are, or ever will be, capable of desiring. —H. Emilie Cady, Lessons in Truth

If you turn your thoughts away from the external toward the spiritual, and let them dwell on the good in yourself and in others, all the apparent evil will first drop out of your thoughts and then out of your life. —H. Emilie Cady, Lessons in Truth

God the Father blesses you with all He has to give. Make good Godly use of it. —Genevieve Behrend, Your Invisible Power

Are you not seeking Good? Why do you move your right hand? You move it to get your Good. Why do you breathe? You breathe to get your Good. Why do the stones lie still and wait? They are waiting for their Good. Why does the fly? It flies for its Good. Everything moves and waits for its Good. So you see that the Good draws everything. The Good which you and I want governs everything we do. Therefore the Good which you are seeking is your God. —Emma Curtis Hopkins, Scientific Christian Mental Practice

The grander natures and the more thoughtful are always looking for and in conversation dwelling on the better things in others. It is the rule with but few, if any exceptions, that the more noble and worthy and thoughtful the nature, the more it is continually looking for the best there is to be found in every life. Instead of judging or condemning, or acquiring the habit that eventually leads to this, it is looking more closely to and giving its time to living more worthily itself. —Ralph Waldo Trine, Thoughts I Met on the Highway

Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself. No such conditions can exist as descending into vice and its attendant sufferings apart from vicious inclinations, or ascending into virtue and its pure happiness without the continued cultivation of virtuous aspirations; and man, therefore, as the lord and master of thought, is the maker of himself the shaper and author of environment. —James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

The universe does not favor the greedy, the dishonest, the vicious, although on the mere surface it may sometimes appear to do so; it helps the honest, the magnanimous, the virtuous. All the great Teachers of the ages have declared this in varying forms, and to prove and know it a man has but to persist in making himself more and more virtuous by lifting up his thoughts. —James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

Assume a virtue, if you have it not. —Shakespeare, Hamlet (III:iv:160)

The cause of all that is apparently evil is the limitation of the unlimited. The love which gets limited into little channels and seems to be evil eventually comes out at the other end and manifests itself as God. —Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (8 Vol. set), Volume 2

If the room is dark, do you go about beating your chest and crying, “It is dark, dark, dark!”? No, the only way to get the light is to strike a light, and then the darkness goes. The only way to realize the light above you is to strike the spiritual light within you, and the darkness of sin and impurity will flee away. Think of your higher self, not of your lower. —Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (8 Vol. set), Volume 1