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There's a street in this neighbourhood named "Virtue St." It's a narrow, one-block long dead end...which, for someone with a silly sense of humour, has some fun applications. It can be said that Virtue is short in Toronto, and that Virtue will get you nowhere. You might also say that Virtue is a narrow road. Of course, since Virtue is a dead end, that means that Virtue leads only to Virtue. Hence, Virtue is its own reward. As Diogenes Laertius said, "One ought to seek out Virtue for its own sake." The Bible even mentions this street. It's a good thing that Amy has no negative feelings toward Virtue St., because "she who hates Virtue is covered with shame." (Proverbs 11:16) It's an unmarked street; "we had no sign of Virtue to show." (Wisdom of Solomon 5:13) Even Confucius seems to have known about the street, and the people who live there; "Virtue is not solitary; it is bound to have neighbours." But it doesn't sound like a very safe place to live; "Virtue is a state of war." (Jean-Jacques Rousseau) I guess Shakespeare was right when he said, "Virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious strokes." (Hamlet, Iiii) Virtue St. is just a couple blocks away from here, which means that I live close to Virtue. If I walk east, I'm on the road to Virtue. By now I'm also on the right road to a smart bottom, so I'll quite while I'm ahead. Discretion is, after all, a Virtue. |
