a. (UN-1 7.)
1432. Paston Lett., I. 32. The whiche lak or defaulte mighte be caused by ungodely or unvertuous men.
c. 1456. Pecock, Bk. of Faith (1909), 149. Forto so bileeve withoute evydence is unresonable, and therfore unvertuose.
a. 1548. Hall, Chron., Hen. IV., 19. He beyng netteled with these vncurteous ye vnuertuous prickes … serched out the authours.
1586. Ferne, Blaz. Gentrie, 16. The coate-armours, and nobilities of the vaine and invertuous Gentlemen.
1645. Milton, Tetrach., 54. An opinion both ungodly, unpolitic, unvertuous, and void of all honesty and civil sense.
1741. Richardson, Pamela, III. 44. It must be a very unvirtuous Man, that can form any other Ideas … than those of … Pity for you.
1867. Month, VI. 17. An unvirtuous Priest … ruins many souls in these days.
1886. A. Weir, Hist. Basis Mod. Europe, ii. 37. He was [deeply] involved in the unvirtuous statecraft of his time.
Hence Unvirtuously adv.; Unvirtuousness.
a. 1500. Bernardus de cura rei fam. (E.E.T.S.), 10/245. Wyrk thow oder wnwerteusly or vele.
1520. Caxton’s Chron. Eng., IV. 32 b/2. Many tymes he regned vnuertuously that is a kynge borne.
1682. N. Ingelo, Bentiv. & Ur., IV. (ed. 4), 115. Love less, and you will love better and longer. You love Arete unvertuously.
1843. Carlyle, Past & Pr., III. ii. It was the terror … of doing unworthily, doing unvirtuously, which was their word for unmanfully.
1865. W. H. Gillespie, Argt. Being & Attrib., III. iii. § 6. The same sort of thing holds with regard to … unvirtuousness.
