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VIBTUALLY.
iievght that is to wyte of place, of rcmuneracion or reward,
of knowlecbe, aod cwf vertualyte or strengthe.
•f* b. Something endoweti with virtue or power.
1614 Kauiich Hist, iVorlH 1, L 7 This omnipotent Spirit
of God., St. Augustine sometimes taketh..for the holy
Ghost; sometime for a winde or breath, ..or. .for a created
N'irtuaiity.
2. Essential nature or being, apart from external
form or embodiment.
i6«6 Sir T. Browne Pseuti, Ep. vii. il 343 In one
graine of come . . there lyeth dormant the virtuality of many
other, and from thence sometimes proceed an hundred
eares. 1688 R. L'Estrange Brief Hist. Times 11. Pref.,
The Two Main Pillars of the Old Cause were the Protestation
(that was afterwards Emprov'd into a Covenant) and
the Virtuality of the Sovereign Power in the Two Houses.
i8« tr, Custine's Empire ofCzar II. 272 When the church
abdicates its liberty, it loses its moral virtuality. 1858 H.
BusHNELL Nai, et he do ine ^e his uertu. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne
5852 ' Pers ', he seyd, ' . . l>ou art weyl with Ihesu ; He shewej?
for t>e grete vertu.' 1338 — Chron, (1810) 184 If 5our God
be so clere, & of so grete vertewe. As 5e preche oft tide.
c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1391 For though so he that Mars
is god of Armes Youre vertu is so greet in heuene aboue
That (etc. J. a 1435 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. ^7
pat it[Bubol may neuer be cured. .but if it plese god..for
to help wtj» his vnspekeable vertu. a 1450 Mirk's Fesiial
6 Hopyng )?at Jje vertu of Cryst schull put away his tempiacyon.
1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. xqj-z After the passion of
Jhesu Cryst. .he was transported from Infirmyte to Vertu.
'557 ^' ^'' (Genev.) Epist. iiii, In his owne vertue he rose
agayne. 1570 T. Norton tr. Nmvets Cateck. 25 b, All
things would runne to ruine, and fall to nothyng, vnlesse by
hys vertue, & as it were by hys hand, they were vpholden.
1594 Drayton Idea 489 All unclean Thoughts, fouleSpirits
cast out in mee, Onely by Vertue that proceeds from thee.
165s Stanley Hist. Philos. 1. 1. 14 That the world is animated,
and that God is the soul thereof, .. whose divine
moving vertue penetrats through the element of water.
1738 Wesley Ps. lxxx. xx. Look on them with thy flaming
Eyes 1"he Sin-consuming Virtue dart. 1850 Neale
Med. Hymns (1867) 27 Michael, who in princely virtue
Cast Abaddon from on high.
b. An embodiment of such power; esp.//., one
of the orders of the celestial hierarchy.
a 1300 Cursor M. 10523 Godds virtu or gret prophet. Or
angel elles >ai him let. 13.. A". E. A Hit. P. A. 1125 l>e
steuen mo^t stryke J>ur5 Jw vrhe to helle, pat J>e vertues of
heuen of loye endyte. 138a Wvclif Mark xiii. 25 Vertues
that be in heuenes, schulen be mouyd. 1398 Trevisa De
P. R. II. xvi. (1495) c j b/2 The seuenth ordre [of angels] is
Vertues. 1533 Gau Richt Vay 4 And siclik ihay dremit
and maid innumerabil pouers and vertus and laid to siclik
orisons. 1575 Timme tr. Marlorafs Expos. John 146/a
Hee hath committed these partes in charge, to the Angell.
For the which cause the Angelles are called, powers, or vertues.
1584 R. Scot Discov. IVitchcr. xv. iL (1B86) 315 Two
and twentie legions of divels, partlie of the order of vertues,
& partlie of the order of thrones. i6ao Quarles Peutxologia,
Glot'ia Coeli 13 Where troups of Powers, Vertues,
Cherubins,..Arechaunting praises to their heauenly King.
1667 Milton P. L. x. 460 Thrones, Dominations, Princedoms,
Vertues, Powers, a 1711 Ken Hymnothco Poet.
Wks. 1721 III. 200 Virtues, who turn the orbs celestial
round. 181S Cary Dante, Par. xxviii, 113 Dominations
first; next them, Virtues; and powers the third. 1880
EncycLBrit. XI. 792/1.
+ C. An act of superhuman or divine power; a
' mighty work * ; a miracle. Obs.
a 1300 Cursor M. 19566 (Edin.), pe haligaste, it was sa
gode, bate t?a men |jat it undirfange mo^te do suilc uirtuz
and sua strange. ^1305 St. Christopher 127 in E. E.P,
(1862) 63 On such god, he setde, 5e schulde biieoue: t>at
such virtu mai do. «: 1375 Sc, Leg. Saints x. {Matthew)
232, I traste lat ^u ma do J^e sammyne-lyk vertu fore his
sake. 138a Wyclif Matt. xi. 20 Thanne Iliesus began for
to seie repreue to citees, in whiche ful manye vertues of
hym ben don. c 1400 Apol. Loll. (Camden) 28 Crist in a
coost of J>e Jewes mi^t not do ani vertu ^r. for \>k vntrou|».
i5a6TiNDALEMrtrAvi. 2 What wysdom is this ihatisgeven
vnto him ? and such vertues that are wrought by his hondes ?
2. Conformity of life and conduct with the principles
of morality ; voluntary observance of the
recognized moral laws or standards of right conduct
; abstention on moral grounds from any form
of wrong-doing or vice.
a laas Ancr. R. 26S Nu hit is vertu. .uor to wakien, uor
hit greueS ^. 1390 Gower Con^. I. 7 Tho was vertu sett
above And vice was put under fote. 1399 Langl. Rich.
Redeles iti. 206 So vertue wolde flflowe whan vicis were
ebbid. c 14SO Hoccleve Mot/ter ofGod o Modir of mercy,
..pat of al vertu art superlatyf. 1484 Caxton Fables of
j^sop IV. XX, The roote of alle vertue is obedynce and
humylyte. 1531 Elyot Gw. ii. x, If vertue be an election
annexed unto our nature, and consisteth in a meane, which
is determined by reason. 1545 Brinklow Lament. 79
Reformacion or redresse-.wherby to expulse vice, and encreace
vertu. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. m.
iL 71 b, [They] haue enclined, & finally returned vnto their
naturall and primitlue vertue. i63X Burton Anat. Mel. 1.
i.ii. xi,Theprincipall Habits are two in number, Vertue, and
Vice. 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. I. in. 107 He describes
morall vertu in his discourses and writings. 1691 Hart-
CLiFFE Virtues 9 There were also those, who taught, That
Virtue was that excellent thing, in which we should find our
chiefest Good. 1736 Butler Anal. i. iii. §4 Virtue consists
in a regard to what is right and reasonable, as being so ; in
a regard to veracity, justice, charity, in themselves. lyjt
Chatham Lett. Nephew ii. 7 Lessons of honourj courage, .
humanity, and in one word, virtue in its true signification.
X791 Burke Corr. (1844) III. 200 Vice is never so odious.,
as when it usurps and disgraces the natural place of virtue.
i8s8 Carlyle Misc. (1857) I. 83 He thinks that to propose a
reward for virtue is to render virtue impossible.^ 1850 F. W.
Robertson Led. 75 That alone is virtue which has good
placed before it ana evil, and seeing the evil, chooses the
good. 1875 JowETT Plato (ed. 2) V. 179 Unless we know
whether virtue is one or many, we shall hardly know what
virtue is.
phr. [1669 Dryden Tyraiintc Love n. i,To follow Vertue,
as its own reirardj "^697 Vanbruch Reletpsev. iii, Virtue is
its own Reward : There's a Pleasure in doing good, which
sufficiently pays it self, 1756 Home Douglas in. i. 1771
Smollett Humph, CI., To D, Leivis 12 June, I shall be
content with the reflection, that virtue is its own reward.
18^ Smedley F. Fairlegh xxxviii, Supposing this^ ini-
quitous engagement . . broken
to be its own reward?
off by your exertions, is Virtue
VIRTUE.
b. Personified, or rej^^arded as an entity,
140S Hocclkve Let. Cupid 457 Vertu so dignfc is and so
noble ill kynde, That Vice and she wol not in feere abide.
c z4ao Lydc. A ssembly of Gods 2074 Then may ye say ye
have a sure staff To. , walke by the way of Vertu hys loore.
1x1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. xx. If ever Vertue tooke abodte
to shewe his (else unconceaveable) beautie. 1593 Shaks.
3 Hen. VL III. ii, 63 That toue which Vertue begges, and
Vertue graunts. 1607 Dekker Northw. Hoe v. Wks. 1873
III. 73 Virtue glories not in the spoil, but in the victory.
1660 Ingelo Bentiv, i^ Ur. 11. (1682) 68 If Virtue be so happy
when it is afflicted. 169a Prior Ode Imit, Horace viii,
Virtue is her own Reward, With solid Beams and Native
Glory bright. 17*6-46 Thomson Winter 1039 Virtue sole
survives, Immortal never-failing friend of man. 1770G0LDSM.
Des. Will. 108 But on he moves to meet his latter end.
Angels around befriending Virtue's friend. 1799 Campbell
Picas. Hope \. 530 So Virtue dies, the spouse of Liberty !
1818 CoLKVUOGv: Friend (1865) 72 A wound in feelings
which virtue herself has fostered. 1B60 All Vear Round
No. 64. 322 Man may bow before virtue, but virtue never
bows before man.
C. spec. Chastity, ^exual purity, esp, on the pari
of women. Of easy virtue : see Easy a, 1 2.
X599 Shaks. Much Ado iv. i. 84 Hero it selfe can blot out
Heroes vertue. 1706 Estcoubt Fair Example v. i, Ne'er
let the fair one boast of Virtue prov'd Till she has well
refus'd the ^Ian she lov'd. 1740 Richardson I'amelaiiSa^)
I. xiv. 252, 1 say not this, to excuse the lady's fall : Nothing
can do that ; because virtue is. . preferable to all considerations.
X749 Fielding Tom Jones 11. iii. That order of
females whose faces are taken as a kind of security for
their virtue. 1819 Shelley Peter Bell 3rd in. viii. There
are mincing women, mewing.. Of their own virtue. 1885
Mabel Collins Prettiest Woman ii, She played the woman
of virtue—and played it well.
transf. 1845 M^Culloch Taxation i. iv. (1852) 121 The
tax will then fall with its fuH weight upon men of integrity,
while the millionaire of ' easy virtue ' may well-nigh escape
it altogether.
d. .SV. Industry, diligence, rare.
1546 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 757/2 Quhairthrow all vii tew
and marcnandice within the said buri;h is abusit, ceissit and
dekeyit. 1641 Sc. Acts, Chas. /(1B17) V. 657/2 It isnecessar
that in everie schyre at leistthair be ane schooll or hous of
vertue erected. I6id. 658/2 Any parcellis of cloth, seyis, &c.,
. . made in the saidis houses of vertew. 1803 Scott Let, in
Lockhart (1837) I. xi. 386 In many parts of Scotland the
word virtue is limited entirely to industry,
3. With a and pi. A particular moral excellence ;
a special manifestation of the influence of moral
principles in life or conduct.
anas Aticr. R. 368 I>et o3er J^ing is..deuociun, reoufuU
nesse, nierci, pite of heorte. ., edmodnesse, & o3re swuche
uertuz. cx»30 Hali Meid. 1 3 pis is ^et J>e uertu |>at halt.,
ure feble flesch..in hal halinesse. « 1300 Cursor M. 571
Alle virtus has [that] saul i-wis, ^at vte o sin vnsaked is.
c\-^x%Spec, Gy Wariu. 71, I wole t>e teche, Faire uertuz
for to Uke And foule hewesto forsake. 1377 Langl./*. PI
B. XI. 370 Sufi'raunce is a souereygne vertue. c 1400 Destr.
Troy ^oiy Ho..voidet all vanities, & virtus dissyret. I4as
YosGE ir. Secreta Secret. 147 The beste good of all is good
of vertues and grace, c 1440 Jacob's Well 82 Ot»ere synnes
am contrarye toon vertew, as pride iscontraryetolownesse.
»Sa6 Pilgr, Perf, (W. de W. 1531) 2 All maner of goostly
matter, concernynge the perfeccyon of graces and vertues.
1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie 111. xxiii. (Arb.) 274 Ihe word
became not . . her sex, whose chiefe vertue is sham efasi nesse.
1601 Shaks. Alfs Well iv. iii. 84 Our crimes would dispaire
if they were not cherish 'd by our vertues. 1644 M ilton
Areop. (Arb.) 44 How great a vertue is temperance, how
much of moment through the whole life of man? x68a
BuNYAN Greatness of Soul^V.%, 1853 I. 138 It is a sport
now to some to taunt and squib and deride at other men's
virtues. 1705 Stanhope Paraphr, III. 207 They confess
too, that Self-Denial is a Christian Vertue. 1761 Hume
Hist. Eng. il. xxviii. 136 Courage, preferably to equity or
justice, was the virtue most valued. 1797 Godwin £nguirer
i. ii. 9 Human virtues without discrimination are no
virtues. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. 321 Thousands.. proclaimed
the virtues of the deceased prince superior to those
of all his predecessors. 1865 Lubbock Preh. Times xiv.
{1869) 553 Neither faith, hope, nor charity enters into the
virtues of a savage.
transf. 1680 Moruen Geog. Red., China (1685) 423 Their
chief practice or special Virtues are Theft, Murder and
Adultery. 1719 Young Busiris \. i. When rage and rancour
are the proper virtues, And loss of reason is the mark of
men. x8ao Byron Mar. Fal. iv. ii, But they were not
aware that there are things Which make revenge a virtue by
reflection.
b. In enumerations of certain moral qualities
regarded as of special excellence or importance, as
the four cardinal virtues (see Cardinal a. 2), the
three theological virtues (see Theological a. i),
or the seven virtues opposed to the seven deadly
sins, .
cx3«> Cast. LoT'e 827 J>at bej> J>e seuen vertues wij> winne
To ouercome be seuen dedly sinne. 1387 Trevisa Higden
(Rolls) I. 5 pe metynge of J>e ^.re waies of |>e ^\it vertues of
deuynyte, and (>e metynge of foure weies of J>c foure chief
vertues.