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  What it means

  Literally “Virtue surpasses learning.” The proverb asserts that good moral character is more valuable than academic knowledge or intellectual achievement alone. Being a virtuous person — honest, kind, and upright — matters more than being highly educated. It is often invoked to remind listeners that education without ethics produces little of lasting worth.

  English equivalent

  Virtue is worth more than learning.

  Vocabulary

  • cnota — virtue, moral excellence; nominative singular
  • naukę — learning, education, science; accusative singular of nauka
  • przechodzi — surpasses, goes beyond; 3rd person singular present of przechodzić

  Grammar note

  'Naukę' is in the accusative case as the direct object of 'przechodzić' (to surpass, to exceed). 'Cnota' is the subject in the nominative case. The verb 'przechodzić' is used here in its figurative sense of 'to surpass, to exceed' rather than its literal meaning of 'to pass by.'

  Cultural context

  Formal and literary register, with roots in Polish Catholic moral philosophy where 'cnota' (virtue) was the highest human quality. More at home in older texts, sermons, or formal speeches than in casual conversation. Reflects medieval European moral thought that reached Poland through the Church and Renaissance humanism.

  Intermediate

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