--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are never quits with those who oblige…" description: "\"We are never quits with those who oblige us,\" was Dantes' reply; \"for when we do not owe them money, we owe them gratitude.\" — Alexandre Dumas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/alexandre-dumas-436_gratitude_we-are-never-quits-with-those-who-oblige_1661593.jpg" --- # We are never quits with those who oblige us," was Dantes'… ![“We are never quits with those who oblige us," was Dantes' reply; "for when we do not owe them money, we owe them gratitude.” quote by Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/alexandre-dumas-436_gratitude_we-are-never-quits-with-those-who-oblige_1661593.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/alexandre-dumas-436_gratitude_we-are-never-quits-with-those-who-oblige_1661593.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/alexandre-dumas-436_gratitude_we-are-never-quits-with-those-who-oblige_1661593.jpg) > “We are never quits with those who oblige us," was Dantes' reply; "for when we do not owe them money, we owe them gratitude.” [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We owe gratitude to those who help us, even without financial debt. **In simple terms:** Help creates moral obligation. Key Takeaway Show appreciation to helpers. Themes gratitude reciprocity ethics Mood appreciative reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - friendships - workplace mentorship - volunteerism Key Concepts moral philosophy social contract Questions to Reflect On - Who has helped you without expecting payment? - How does gratitude affect relationships? A Different Perspective Gratitude can be felt even without direct benefit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dantes-763684/) [Dantes Reply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dantes-reply-763682/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Never quit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-quit/) [Oblige Dantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblige-dantes-763683/) [Owe Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owe-gratitude-763681/) [Quitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quitting/) ## Related quotes > [“However good-hearted one is, you understand, one eventually stops seeing people who depress you, so in the end Old Dantes was all alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/however-good-hearted-one-is-you-understand-one-eventually-stops/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“What, no wine?" said Dantes, turning pale, and looking alternately at the hollow cheeks of the old man and the empty cupboards. "What, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-no-wine-said-dantes-turning-pale-and-looking-alternately-at-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [...but my friends call me Edmund Dantes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/but-my-friends-call-me-edmund-dantes/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Dantes examined the various articles shown to him with the same attention that he had bestowed on the curiosities and strange tools exhibited in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/dantes-examined-the-various-articles-shown-to-him-with-the-same/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“There are not many mediums whose Dantes and Homers one can ring up and talk to. With games, one can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bissell/there-are-not-many-mediums-whose-dantes-and-homers-one-can-ring-up/) [Tom Bissell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bissell/) > [The staff members of all banks have worked very hard, and we all owe them our gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urjit-patel/the-staff-members-of-all-banks-have-worked-very-hard-and-we-all-owe/) [Urjit Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urjit-patel/) > [If I owe you gratitude for one thing-how comes you want everything?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veneice-fung-chung/if-i-owe-you-gratitude-for-one-thing-how-comes-you-want-everything/) [Veneice Fung-Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veneice-fung-chung/) > [We owe gratitude to France, justice to England, good will to all, and subservience to none ... it was by the sober sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/we-owe-gratitude-to-france-justice-to-england-good-will-to-all-and/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I will suppose that you have no friends to share or rejoice in your success in life — that you cannot look back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/i-will-suppose-that-you-have-no-friends-to-share-or-rejoice-in-your/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [“There are many things for which I owe gratitude to my dad. Most of all, I am grateful to the only man who could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-mayes/there-are-many-things-for-which-i-owe-gratitude-to-my-dad-most-of-all/) [Ron Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-mayes/) > [I come from election, I come from the people. I owe gratitude to our people. I do everything for the good of the country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thaksin-shinawatra/i-come-from-election-i-come-from-the-people-i-owe-gratitude-to-our/) [Thaksin Shinawatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thaksin-shinawatra/) > [No one can obtain felicity by pursuit. This explains why one of the elements of being happy is the feeling that a debt of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-pieper/no-one-can-obtain-felicity-by-pursuit-this-explains-why-one-of-the/) [Josef Pieper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-pieper/) > [If you have no friends to share or rejoice in your success in life - if you cannot look back to those whom you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-no-friends-to-share-or-rejoice-in-your-success-in-life-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For those of us who try to keep remembering, Try to do our better than our best. Think of all the children in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/for-those-of-us-who-try-to-keep-remembering-try-to-do-our-better-than/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [Character never quits; and with patience and persistence; Dreams do come true!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-maravich/character-never-quits-and-with-patience-and-persistence-dreams-do/) [Pete Maravich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-maravich/) ## More by Alexandre Dumas > [“What is the sense in recriminations about things over which the will of God itself is powerless? God can change the future, He cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-is-the-sense-in-recriminations-about-things-over-which-the-will/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [There is no friendship that cares about an overheard secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/there-is-no-friendship-that-cares-about-an-overheard-secret/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [Darling, replied Valentine, has not the count just told us that all human wisdom was contained in these two words,- "Wait and hope"?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/darling-replied-valentine-has-not-the-count-just-told-us-that-all/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“when you have the honour to find yourself in the company of ordinary men and the good fortune to be out of politics for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/when-you-have-the-honour-to-find-yourself-in-the-company-of-ordinary/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“He rose in his turn, and seizing handfuls of confetti and sweetmeats, with which the carriage was filled, cast them with all the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/he-rose-in-his-turn-and-seizing-handfuls-of-confetti-and-sweetmeats/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“A man is always in a hurry to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/a-man-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-happy/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Speak on, madame, speak on, Queen," said Buckingham; "the sweetness of your voice covers the harshness of your words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/speak-on-madame-speak-on-queen-said-buckingham-the-sweetness-of-your/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“On the 24th of February, 1810, the look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, the Pharaon from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/on-the-24th-of-february-1810-the-look-out-at-notre-dame-de-la-garde/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“what despair to see a woman one loves longing for those thousand nothings from which women compose their happiness, and to be unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-despair-to-see-a-woman-one-loves-longing-for-those-thousand/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Here is a man who was resigned to his fate, who was walking to the scaffold and about to die like a coward, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/here-is-a-man-who-was-resigned-to-his-fate-who-was-walking-to-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/i-am-not-proud-but-i-am-happy-and-happiness-blinds-i-think-more-than/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [For there are two distinct sorts of ideas: Those that proceed from the head and those that emanate from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/for-there-are-two-distinct-sorts-of-ideas-those-that-proceed-from-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Besides, what is required of a young man in Paris? To speak its language tolerably, to make a good appearance, to be a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/besides-what-is-required-of-a-young-man-in-paris-to-speak-its/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Carry your sorrow inside you as the cloud conceals ruin and death like a deadly secret that is understood only when the storm breaks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/carry-your-sorrow-inside-you-as-the-cloud-conceals-ruin-and-death/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“What fragile and unknown threads the destinies of nations and the lives of men are suspended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-fragile-and-unknown-threads-the-destinies-of-nations-and-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) [Explore all 473 Alexandre Dumas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## More Gratitude quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [“A treacherous President stood in the way; and it can be easily seen how reluctant good men might be to admit an apostasy which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/a-treacherous-president-stood-in-the-way-and-it-can-be-easily-seen/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [I listen to heavy metal thanks to my son. When I argue with him on the kind of music he is listening to, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeenat-aman/i-listen-to-heavy-metal-thanks-to-my-son-when-i-argue-with-him-on-the/) [Zeenat Aman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeenat-aman/) > [“Thanks for teaching us to talk. Thanks for teaching us to be of the world and in the world and to make our way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-isay/thanks-for-teaching-us-to-talk-thanks-for-teaching-us-to-be-of-the/) [Dave Isay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-isay/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I want to thank each and every one of you for having extinguished yourselves this session.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gib-lewis/i-want-to-thank-each-and-every-one-of-you-for-having-extinguished/) [Gib Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gib-lewis/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Be in a state of gratitude for everything that shows up in your life. Be thankful for the storms as well as the smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/be-in-a-state-of-gratitude-for-everything-that-shows-up-in-your-life/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“and man, though idiotic, and knowing not what he does, yet full of the sweet things of love and gratitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/and-man-though-idiotic-and-knowing-not-what-he-does-yet-full-of-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) [Browse all 9,111 Gratitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are never quits with those who oblige us,\" was Dantes' reply; \"for when we do not owe them money, we owe them gratitude.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexandre Dumas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/we-are-never-quits-with-those-who-oblige-us-was-dantes-reply-for-when/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gratitude" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/we-are-never-quits-with-those-who-oblige-us-was-dantes-reply-for-when/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/alexandre-dumas-436_gratitude_we-are-never-quits-with-those-who-oblige_1661593.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/alexandre-dumas-436_gratitude_we-are-never-quits-with-those-who-oblige_1661593.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d17/alexandre-dumas-436_gratitude_we-are-never-quits-with-those-who-oblige_1661593.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are never quits with those who oblige us,\" was Dantes' reply; \"for when we do not owe them money, we owe…” — Alexandre Dumas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexandre Dumas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are never quits with those...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/we-are-never-quits-with-those-who-oblige-us-was-dantes-reply-for-when/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/we-are-never-quits-with-those-who-oblige-us-was-dantes-reply-for-when/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```