Full Idea
It would be difficult to be scorned and to live virtuously. We have need of support.
Gist of Idea
Virtue is hard if we are scorned; we need support
Source
Joseph Joubert (Notebooks [1800], 1800)
Book Reference
Joubert,Joseph: 'Notebooks', ed/tr. Auster,Paul [nyrb 2005], p.56
A Reaction
He seems to have hit on what I take to be one of the keys to Aristotle: that virtue is a social matter, requiring both upbringing and a healthy culture. But we can help to create that culture, as well as benefiting from it.