All the brothers were valiant, and all the sisters virtuous.

The line reads like a stock formula of praise—an intentionally sweeping commendation that assigns conventional virtues by gender: courage to men (“valiant”) and chastity/moral purity to women (“virtuous”). Because it is so generalized (“all the brothers… all the sisters…”), it can function either sincerely (as a family’s epitaph-like compliment) or ironically, as a satirical jab at idealized, stereotyped descriptions that flatten individuals into moral categories. Its anonymity and proverbial tone suggest it may circulate as a set phrase rather than a traceable literary utterance, which itself underscores how easily such gendered moral shorthand becomes conventional.