Virtue, as used here, connotes integrity - that living force that issues from persons, societies, or texts in consequence of their accomplishing their distinctive ends. Professor Berthoff outlines the descent of the intuition of virtue from classical times into our own era and examines it as a formative presence in a series of major literary works.Originally published in 1987.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.