1- Of Virtue

(Found Poem in Michel de Montainge’s “Of Cruelty” translated by George B. Ives)

Virtue is a different and a nobler thing.
Virtue presupposes difficulty and contention
and can be practiced without an adversary.

To have our resolutions and our reasonings
superior to all the force of fortune;
opportunities must be sought for putting them to the proof.

True virtue requires a tough and thorny road.
Lack of apprehension and stupidity thus
sometimes counterfeit virtuous conditions.

My virtue is a virtue, casual and fortuitous.
I owe virtue more to my fortune than to my sense.