Doesn't it -- mustn't it -- go with the territory of what is called virtue?
The object of this observation is not so much to disparage or demean virtue, of whatever sort, but rather to give virtue its honest due. How could virtue flower and bloom without passing through this sharp-toothed gate?
Maybe it's like having a cat and loving it dearly. The cat loves you back with purrs and a warming presence in the lap. Cat lovers really do love their cats.
But cats come with very effective teeth and claws -- tools that make even the most devoted owners bleed and feel the pain. Cats and virtues have the wherewithal to warn the unwary, "Don't fuck around with me!"
How could anyone honestly love their cat without knowing, acknowledging and embracing this?
Are virtues that don't nip and rend really worthy of the name "virtue?"
Seems to me that a virtue leading to advantage would include a or consist of a quality that would protect that virtue in so far as possible. But i don't know if excellence or goodness require such an ability. Dunno!
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