Virtue

A few days ago I heard someone talking about virtue. Virtue, as in integrity not chastity. The idea was that virtue is something you are. All the time. It cannot change or be variable. It means that you stand up for the same thing whether your family is watching, your friends are watching or no one is watching. The example that was given was about a man that was offered a hundred dollars to do something unethical, he said no, but when he was offered a thousand dollars he thought about it but still said no. But because he had to think about it, it wasn't virtue. Yes, and no, I thought. I suppose that virtue is steady and immovable, but that seems so incredibly out of reach. At least for me in some situations.

Somewhere in the depths of the Anne of Green Gables series by L M Montgomery Anne says something to the effect of wanting to marry a boy that is not dully good, but a man who could be bad, but isn't. I probably butchered that, but I would interpret it as wanting to marry someone (or being yourself) who does not just do good blindly but chooses it, even if they choose it because they have made bad/dumb decisions in the past and they know better now. Not only choosing consistently but also choosing because you know/understand the reasoning seems a more approachable virtue.

Hopefully this made at least a little bit of sense.