History Main / OnlyThePureOfHeart

* Mentioned in the lyrics of Music/{{Queen}}'s "Flash's Theme" from ''Film/FlashGordon'':

* In Literature/TheBible, Jesus indicates that only the pure of heart would get to Heaven in several occasions. One of them is in the Sermon of the Mount: ''"Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God."'' (St. Matthew, 5:8). Another one is in St. Matthew 18:3: ''"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven."''

* In the [[Anime/KirbyOfTheStars Kirby anime]], Meta Knight's sword, Galaxia, is [[ForgedByTheGods an ancient]] EmpathicWeapon that senses the intent of those who try to wield it. If it doesn't like their intent, it electrocutes them.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': The Sword of Beowulf can only be drawn by the pure of heart. Harm became pure evil [[spoiler:by murdering his own sister, the only person he ever loved,]] so he could wield it [[spoiler:The Sword rejects him when he feels a shred of remorse after seeing his sister's ghost, becoming impure.]] The point is, of course, that while Pure Is Not Good, pure is also not easy.[[/folder]]

* In ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', particularly the second installment, having high [[KarmaMeter Light or Dark Side]] scores affected not only dialogue but the Force Point cost of Light and Dark Force powers. Also, some items could only be wielded by adepts of a particular side and there were even a few restricted to "Grey Jedi", i.e. Force users who don't venture too far into either extreme. Lastly, the sequel had a lightsaber crystal that changed its properties as your KarmaMeter rating grew.

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** Neither Muten Roshi nor Kuririn can hope to ride Goku's Kinto'un because Kuririn stole dirty magazines for Muten Roshi, but a few other characters more pure of heart apparently can. Gohan, Goten, Chichi (at least as a child), and ([[SplitPersonality in a tellingly specific way]]) "Good" Lunch, but not Bulma. As one might expect from {{shounen}}, this isn't a VirginPower; Goku mainly stops riding because he and many other characters simply fly on their own.
** In ''Manga/CrossEpoch'', a crossover with ''Manga/OnePiece'', Luffy rides the Kinto'um as well.

** The [[CombinedEnergyAttack Genki Dama]] can only be used by someone of pure heart as well. Therefore, when Goku enters the Super Saiyajin form, he's unable to use it, because the Super Saiyajin state taints his heart with rage and [[BloodKnight bloodlust]]. This doesn't prohibit him from going [=SSJ=] ''after'' forming the attack, which he does in the Android 13 movie (outright absorbing the energy), in the final battle against Kid Buu, and against Jiren in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''.
** Cell claims to be able to use the Genki Dama, but never actually does so in the anime. Fans speculate that like Vegeta's Super Saiyajin, being pure evil satisfies the "pure of heart" requirement, while others suggest that his line in ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokai'' ("Okay planet, gimme that stupid energy!") implies that he's forcibly taking the energy rather than asking for donations.

-->Jack:(with a smile)But it can hurt you, Aku. (Commence CurbStompBattle)

** Notably, during the DC crossover ''ComicBook/JLAAvengers'', Wonder Woman can manage it ''but not Superman''. (Supes used the hammer, but only because Odin lifted the restriction due to the critical situation; afterwards Thor explains this, but also remarks that [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming it's never been in worthier hands]].)

-->Jack:(with a smileBut it can hurt you, Aku. (Commence CurbStompBattle)

* In the third season of ''Anime/SailorMoon'', the purity of the heart can be extracted as a crystal. The BigBad guys, called the Death Busters, as well as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are searching for three specific Pure Heart Crystals that contain powerful treasures known as Talismans. When the three Talismans come together, they roduce the Holy Grail, which could either purify the world or put the world into eternal silence, depending on who's hands it falls into (The Messiah of Light or the Messiah of Silence).

* In the ''Series/{{Raven}},'' game show's spin-off '' Raven: The Dragon's Eye'', only someone who fits this trope can retrieve the title MacGuffin without getting corrupted by it's power. [[spoiler: Once it is retrieved, Raven destroys it.]]

* In the ''Series/{{Raven}},'' game show's spin-off '' Raven: The Dragon's Eye'', only someone who fits this trope can retrieve the title MacGuffin without getting corrupted by it's power. [[Spoiler: Once it is retrieved, Raven destroys it.]]

A WideEyedIdealist (or otherwise, just TheIdealist) may fit this trope, in which case the bad guys might[[MacguffinDeliveryService exploit them to get around this security feature]].

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' has Pure Faith for the [[AmazonBrigade Sisters of Battle]] that allows them to perform certain miracles. Whether a bunch of holier-than-thou {{Knight Templar}}s who tend to apply KillItWithFire to everyone less holy if given the chance can be considered to "lack evil in their hearts" is another question...

It may be a [[VirginityMakesYouStupid naive]] WideEyedIdealist, which makes him/her easily exploitable by the bad guys.

** At one point it's mentioned that only someone of a pure heart can become a Super Saiyajin. Vegeta then explains he was capable of it because his heart is pure ''evil''. Which is strange, because Vegeta is a surprisingly nice guy by the series' end. A ProudWarriorRaceGuy with BloodKnight tendencies and a bad {{Jerkass}} streak, but still a pretty decent guy overall. Though it's not uncommon in ''Dragon Ball'' for former villains to insist they're still evil, even if it's not actually fooling anyone.
*** The trick with becoming a Super Saiyajin is a combination of purity and rage. So you have to be pure, and then [[BerserkButton something]] has to piss you off [[UnstoppableRage in a big way]]. Emotional bursts flares up one's {{Ki}}, and causes the transformation; the purer and kinder the individual, the more potent the rage-burst when it happens (potentially explaining why Vegeta had such a hard time - he's ''always'' angry, so him raging isn't that big an emotional burst). It's sort of an extreme case of BreakTheCutie combined with UnstoppableRage that turns into a BewareTheNiceOnes. Once you manage to get to Super Saiyajin, though, maintaining or improving it isn't a big deal.
*** "The power comes from a ''need'', not a desire", in Vegeta's case he ended up putting himself in an ''extremely'' dangerous position while training in order to ''force'' himself to need the power just to survive. It might sound crazy, but consider that he probably wouldn't want to live anymore anyways if he couldn't pull it off after seeing Goku achieve it.

* In Creator/MadeleineERobins's ''Literature/SoldForEndlessRue'', Crescia enjoins Laura to keep everything scrupulous clean, and keep washing her hands, and make up the brews in ''clean'' pots -- no soap traces, even. She explains it as how the saints love purity, so they must keep things pure to invoke their aid. [[spoiler:Later, after Laura's seduction, she explains that Laura would have had to remain a virgin to follow her.]]
* In Creator/JackCampbell's ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' novel ''Guardian'', the ships they find [[spoiler:keeping patrol on Earth]] refuse to them pass because of some impurity, which they do not define well, but this purity does obsess them.

** It should be noted that the swords' stringent requirements are also constant, and their FatalFlaw; if a Knight lies, hurts innocents, or kills without ''very'' good reason, their Knight abilities are instantly lost, and the sword they bear has a chance of breaking. Once broken, a sword can never be fixed, and one of humanity's greatest weapons against evil is destroyed. NiceJobBreakingItHero. [[spoiler:However, there is hope. Even after an improper use and lose of the Sword's power, Michael Carpenter would remind Harry that the key aspect in any of the Swords is not ''sword'' but the trait it represents. When the Sword of Faith was depowered and broken in an improper usage, it was reconstituted when a worthy man grabbed it and reformed in the shape of his faith]].

* In both the Marvel and DC universes, reigning Lords of Hell (Mephisto and Neron respectively) have attempted to ensnare the most incorruptibly pure souls only to be unable to actually HOLD them in Hell because of ''that very same trait''. The souls in question? [[spoiler: ComicBook/SilverSurfer and [[{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] (again respectively)]].

Subtrope of PhlebotinumHandlingRequirements. Compare OnlyTheKnowledgableMayPass, OnlySmartPeopleMayPass, OnlyTheWorthyMayPass, ChildrenAreInnocent. Related to FantasticAesop.

* In ''TabletopGame/BlueRose'', there's a magical artifact that makes sure Only The Pure Of Heart become nobles in TheKingdom of Aldis. It only works once on any given person, though, so there's nothing stopping nobles from becoming corrupt ''after'' they pass the test.