Virtue, I grant you, is an empty boast;
But shall the dignity of vice be lost?

Virtue, I grant you, is an empty boast;
But shall the dignity of vice be lost?

The heart resolves this matter in a trice,
"Men only feel the smart, but not the vice."

The heart resolves this matter in a trice,
"Men only feel the smart, but not the vice."

Ne'er blush'd, unless, in spreading vice's snares,
She blunder'd on some virtue unawares.

Ne'er blush'd, unless, in spreading vice's snares,
She blunder'd on some virtue unawares.

O, what a mansion have those vices got
Which for their habitation chose out thee,
Where beauty's read more

O, what a mansion have those vices got
Which for their habitation chose out thee,
Where beauty's veil doth cover every blot
And all things turns to fair that eyes can see!

Nurse one vice in your bosom. Give it the attention it deserves and let your virtues spring p modestly around read more

Nurse one vice in your bosom. Give it the attention it deserves and let your virtues spring p modestly around it. Then you'll have the miser who's no liar; and the drunkard who's the benefactor of the whole city.

And last the Vice and Follies of the Age.

And last the Vice and Follies of the Age.

A vice is a failure of desire.

A vice is a failure of desire.

I prefer an interesting vice to a virtue that bores

I prefer an interesting vice to a virtue that bores

Vices of the time; vices of the man.
[Lat., Vitia temporis; vitia hominis.]

Vices of the time; vices of the man.
[Lat., Vitia temporis; vitia hominis.]