"In old age the root of virtue is fatigue; in youth, fear." - Paul Eldredge (1888-1962). Maxims for a Modern 

Man, 258, 1965

Philosophically, virtue means excellence, but in this quote I think that virtue means 'good'. That is, to be virtuous, in the vernacular, is to be a person who follows moral laws and does good deeds. To be virtuous because of fatigue is to be good because you can't bother to act bad. To be virtuous because of fear is to be good because you are afraid of being bad, or of being seen to be bad. For example, imagine you are in an experience where you need to be brave, like being treated. Do you stand up straight and nod give in, moral speaking, because you are afraid to fail, or because you just can't take it anymore? If you are in a time and place where you have the ability to act honestly or dishonestly, why do you tell the truth? To tell the truth because of fatigue might be to be truthful because you know how exhausting it can be to lie. All that time remembering what you said, worrying about being found out, and having the energy and time to make something up - much easier just to tell the truth. On the other hand, you might tell the truth precisely because you do not want to be found out to be a lier. 

If the fatigue of the old were taken away, then would they lie? It seems that they would. So, if 'being old' is a state of mind, then perhaps 'fatigue' is simply one reason we may have for doing or not doing something. Who is ever tired of good, of doing the right thing? On the other hand, it can be quite easy to become tired of being bad, of lying or cheating. This of course is not set in stone, and the old can be just as efficient at being bad as the young. So, perhaps one reason we have for doing virtuous things is because we are tired of something. Then, if we are 'young' and good, perhaps it is because we do not want to be punished, or if not punished, that we don't want to lose something. Does this work the other way around, so that greed and want bring out the non virtuous in us, just as energy and strength do? Hmm, maybe energy and strength is not quite the right turn of phrase to use - perhaps we should go with 'unjaded'. After all, isn't that often why we stop doing things, because we have grown bored with them? If boredom is being tired of things, then perhaps boredom is actually a blessing in disguise, pushing us to try new things? 

If so, that suggests that the opposite of fear, either boldness or being without fear of loss, may allow us to do terrible things. That seems less likely though, seeing as how having too much fear could also push us in a bad direction. That is also true of tiredness, that being too weary or jaded is likely to lead to a very non-virtuous life, one where we are either too dead to the world to act well, or so in need of new and exciting stimulation that we break all sorts of guidelines of wisdom. I am growing to suspect now that 'tiredness' and 'fear', and their opposites, are not, by themselves, what leads us into acting good or bad. The quote instead means that when someone acts virtuous, that is, when we have a virtuous person in front of us, then they might act so because of fear or boredom - in other words, that fear and boredom are not signs of being virtuous, but reasons to be virtuous. If we want to become virtuous, then perhaps we can take a look at our own weariness and fear. What are we tired of doing, tired of having happen to us, and what is it that we fear? Knowing the answers to those questions might be something we could find out, in order to determine why we act the way we do, and how we want to act. What is stopping us from acting virtuous at this particular moment? Are we young or old? 

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