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According to e.g.classic European and classic Chinese philosophy, states and/or people should be ruled by virtuous men.Well known examples for such positions are Platonic philosophy and Confucianism.The belief in the possibility of a rule of virtue is based on the conviction that there are, in principle, always (outstandingly) virtuous men and that these men can actually gain the required socio-political power, or that such power can be given to them.However, philosophers like Karl R.Popper regard the idea of "rule by virtue" as naive and even dangerous.They are convinced that almost nobody can resist the temptations of power and that only a "rule of law" can preclude or at least minimize abuse of power.From ethical points of view, up till now, all historical realizations of the ideas of "rule of virtue" and "rule of law" have proved unsatisfactory.The paper deals with the question of how to combine both approaches in order to achieve a more acceptable (and thereby practicable) result.