"If honesty shone forth from all men's eyes,
If every heart were frank and kind and just,
What could our virtues do but gather dust
(Since their employment is to help us bear
The villainies of men without despair)?"
What is Philinte talking about? Why would Alceste's idea of the way the world should be cost every man his virtues?
Virtue is a behavior that displays high moral standards. I believe that a virtue is what makes a person, a human being, special. It is what makes them delightful and interesting. If every person lived by the societal rule of being completely honest about their intents all the time, that society would lose integrity as a virtue. Sure, there is still honesty, but there is nothing noteworthy about it anymore.
That is the inherent problem with the idea of utopian societies. They remove what is important and extraordinary about human beings: their virtues. Those are the special things they do that stand out, that are memorable, that are remarkable and impressive. Utopian societies strip those things away and make life boring and uninspired; it makes people dreary and stale. It may even rob life of its value.
If a virtue becomes a norm, soon it will be a virtue no longer; it becomes old hat. Bad things (behaviors, acts words, events, etc..) are a necessity. Otherwise, how would you be able to put the good things in context? How could you appreciate them?
"... life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't always spoil the good things and make them unimportant."
