There is a story of a thief who satisfied the material needs of his family by stealing money from unsuspecting travelers. When he realized that what he was doing was not ethical道德的，伦理的, he went to a holy man and asked for help. He told him that he did not know how to support his family without continuing to steal. Yet, he desperately拼命地，绝望地 wanted to change the course of his life.

The holy man agreed to help. He said, "I won't ask you to stop stealing. But I think it might help to take on a virtue美德，优点 that you can always hold on to坚持，紧握 in your life."

The thief promised to always tell the truth, no matter what. After thanking him, he went on his way.

A few days later, the thief was caught stealing, red-handed当场，正在作案. During his trial, the king discovered the thief's commitment to truth. Appreciating this precious virtue³, he appointed the thief as the treasurer⁴ of the kingdom. Soon, he discovered that just one virtue, telling the truth, helped him adopt many other virtues⁵ with relative ease. He led a respectable and virtuous⁶ life.