Frank J. Wilstach, comp. A Dictionary of Similes. 1916.
Virtuous
Virtuous men … like some herbs and spices that give not out their sweet smell till they be broken or crushed.
—Francis Bacon
Virtuous as holy truth.
—Beaumont and Fletcher
Virtuous as a briar-rose.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
A truly virtuous person is like good metal,—the more he is fired, the more he is fined; the more he is opposed, the more he is approved. Wrongs may well try him and touch him, but they cannot imprint on him any false stamp.
—Richelieu