A laurel sprig and a small hand mirror beside white marble steps against a deep plum background.

Original artwork, not a still

Don Marquis

When you can't have anything else, you can have virtue.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Virtue is offered as something still available when other possibilities are closed off. The condition makes it sound like a remaining consolation rather than a reward for success. The sentence does not promise that virtue is invulnerable; its emphasis is on what a person can still possess.

Context reviewed

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