“ The practice of virtue is only difficult from our own negligence ”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Confessions (1782). copy citation
| Author | Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
|---|---|
| Source | Confessions |
| Topic | virtue negligence |
| Date | 1782 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Samuel William Orson |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Confessions_(Rousseau) |
Context
“The affair was already too far advanced, and spite of all my efforts they would have made a point of bringing it to a conclusion.
The sophism which ruined me has had a similar affect on the greater part of mankind, who lament the want of resolution when the opportunity for exercising it is over. The practice of virtue is only difficult from our own negligence; were, we always discreet, we should seldom have occasion for any painful exertion of it; we are captivated by desires we might readily surmount, give into temptations that might easily be resisted, and insensibly get into embarrassing, perilous situations, from which we cannot extricate ourselves but with the utmost difficulty;”
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