--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: O let us still the secret joy partake, To…" description: "\"O let us still the secret joy partake, To follow virtue even for virtue's sake.\" — Alexander Pope" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/alexander-pope-235_character_o-let-us-still-the-secret-joy-partake-to_247358.png" --- # O let us still the secret joy partake, To follow virtue… ![“O let us still the secret joy partake, To follow virtue even for virtue's sake.” quote by Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/alexander-pope-235_character_o-let-us-still-the-secret-joy-partake-to_247358.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/alexander-pope-235_character_o-let-us-still-the-secret-joy-partake-to_247358.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/alexander-pope-235_character_o-let-us-still-the-secret-joy-partake-to_247358.png) > “O let us still the secret joy partake, To follow virtue even for virtue's sake.” [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursuing virtue for its own sake brings secret joy, independent of external rewards. **In simple terms:** Virtue itself is rewarding. Key Takeaway Seek virtue without expecting praise. Themes ethics philosophy inner joy Mood inspirational contemplative Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual practice - education Key Concepts Stoicism virtue ethics Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to act virtuously? - Can you find joy in pure moral action? A Different Perspective May seem idealistic in a reward‑driven world. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [It is not always for virtue's sake that women are virtuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-not-always-for-virtue-s-sake-that-women-are-virtuous/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [One ought to seek out virtue for its own sake, without being influenced by fear or hope, or by any external influence. Moreover, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes/one-ought-to-seek-out-virtue-for-its-own-sake-without-being/) [Diogenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes/) > [Consider your origins: you were not made to live as brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/consider-your-origins-you-were-not-made-to-live-as-brutes-but-to/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [Consider your origin; you were not born to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/consider-your-origin-you-were-not-born-to-live-like-brutes-but-to/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [“Consider your origin. You were not formed to live like brutes but to follow virtue and knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/consider-your-origin-you-were-not-formed-to-live-like-brutes-but-to/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [“it is madness in al women to let a secret love kindle within them, which, if unreturned and unknown, must devour the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-is-madness-in-al-women-to-let-a-secret-love-kindle-within-them/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“...and it is madness in all women to let a secret love kindle within them, which, if unreturned and unknown, must devour the life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/and-it-is-madness-in-all-women-to-let-a-secret-love-kindle-within/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“I will let go of you now. You were my secret. You were in my life, someone whose presence would never be guessed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyung-sook-shin/i-will-let-go-of-you-now-you-were-my-secret-you-were-in-my-life/) [Kyung-Sook Shin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyung-sook-shin/) > [Secret is one thing everybody has. If you let out yours, it is no more a secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdulkarim-abdullahi/secret-is-one-thing-everybody-has-if-you-let-out-yours-it-is-no-more/) [Abdulkarim Abdullahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdulkarim-abdullahi/) > [Tonight, somewhere in America, a young person, let's say a young man, will struggle to fall to sleep, wrestling alone with a secret he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/tonight-somewhere-in-america-a-young-person-let-s-say-a-young-man/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I'll let you in on a secret ...How to avoid taking a wrong turn. I speak from experience. Don't blame the world around you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yellow-tanabe/i-ll-let-you-in-on-a-secret-how-to-avoid-taking-a-wrong-turn-i-speak/) Yellow Tanabe > [“I’ll wear you down,” he proclaimed. “No, you won’t,” I denied. “You won’t let me in, I’ll break in, sneak in, blast in,” he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/i-ll-wear-you-down-he-proclaimed-no-you-won-t-i-denied-you-won-t-let/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [Surprise is the secret of joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/surprise-is-the-secret-of-joy/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I think today if we forbade our illiterate children to touch the wonderful things of our literature, perhaps they might steal them and find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-think-today-if-we-forbade-our-illiterate-children-to-touch-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/conquering-any-difficulty-always-gives-one-a-secret-joy-for-it-means/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) ## More by Alexander Pope > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-wake-the-soul-by-tender-strokes-of-art-to-raise-the-genius-and-to/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [A mighty maze! But not without a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-mighty-maze-but-not-without-a-plan/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Let such teach others who themselves excel, And censure freely who have written well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/let-such-teach-others-who-themselves-excel-and-censure-freely-who/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [For I, who hold sage Homer's rule the best, Welcome the coming, speed the going guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/for-i-who-hold-sage-homer-s-rule-the-best-welcome-the-coming-speed/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/like-following-life-through-creatures-you-dissect-you-lose-it-in-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [When two people compliment each other with the choice of anything, each of them generally gets that which he likes least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/when-two-people-compliment-each-other-with-the-choice-of-anything/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, Amaze th' unlearn'd and make the learned smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/such-labour-d-nothings-in-so-strange-a-style-amaze-th-unlearn-d-and/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/charms-strike-the-sight-but-merit-wins-the-soul/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I am satisfied to trifle away my time, rather than let it stick by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/i-am-satisfied-to-trifle-away-my-time-rather-than-let-it-stick-by-me/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [The greatest advantage I know of being thought a wit by the world is, that it gives one the greater freedom of playing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/the-greatest-advantage-i-know-of-being-thought-a-wit-by-the-world-is/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Then say not Man's imperfect,Heav'n in fault; Say rather, Man's as perfect ashe ought:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/then-say-not-man-s-imperfect-heav-n-in-fault-say-rather-man-s-as/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [First follow Nature, and your judgment frame By her just standard, which is still the same: Unerring nature, still divinely bright, One clear, unchanged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/first-follow-nature-and-your-judgment-frame-by-her-just-standard/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Who shall decide when doctors disagree, And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/who-shall-decide-when-doctors-disagree-and-soundest-casuists-doubt/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) [Explore all 850 Alexander Pope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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