What's the meaning of "embattled salient of virtue." in plain English?

Answer 1

A prominent entity prepared to protect or enforce their own virtues or values

Answer 2

Goddess of Grammar and Dale P identified key features correctly: "embattled" : a struggle; "salient": sticking out; "virtue": that, hopefully, has a meaning that everyone knows.

But the totality of the phrase is more than the sum of its parts. This holism is actually a poignant commentary on our contemporary values. You see, public virtue that is a natural extension of private virtues is so rare these days that it almost suggests sainthood. Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, .... There is the implied courage before all odds, in the face of temptation, against the seduction of pride. Those who seek martyrdom are not virtuous. "Salient" connotes a singular loneliness -- like that of Gary Cooper's in High Noon. "Embattled" -- who lays siege on this lonely virtuous warrior? Rather mundane forces -- money, fame, power, all the forces that corrupt. When your aged aunt sighs as she talks wistfully about the dedicated GP who visited the sick in her village when she was a little girl, and who retired with modest means after 50 years of selfless devotion to his patients, you will know that virtue in those days was neither embattled nor perched on a salient.

Answer 3

Embattled means that the person really has to struggle against something.
Virtue is goodness, morality.
In my experience, salient is usually used as an adjective meaning most noticeable (especially in the phrase "salient feature") but that's a take-off on the meaning "sticking out, as in a cliff in the ocean". It can also be a noun--my dictionary only has the physical meaning "a thing sticking out from somewhere" but your phrase seems to be using it metaphorically.

So, I'd say it's a person who stands out from and stands up to the crowd, because s/he has such strong morals.