--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a perennial and unobtrusive view…" description: "\"There is a perennial and unobtrusive view that morality consists in such things as telling the truth, paying one's debts, respecting one's parents and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/allan-bloom-4105_all-things_there-is-a-perennial-and-unobtrusive-vie_2486718.png" --- # There is a perennial and unobtrusive view that morality… ![“There is a perennial and unobtrusive view that morality consists in such things as telling the truth, paying one's debts, respecting one's parents and doing no voluntary harm to anyone. Those are all things easy to say and hard to do; they do not attract much attention, and win little honor in the…” quote by Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/allan-bloom-4105_all-things_there-is-a-perennial-and-unobtrusive-vie_2486718.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/allan-bloom-4105_all-things_there-is-a-perennial-and-unobtrusive-vie_2486718.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/allan-bloom-4105_all-things_there-is-a-perennial-and-unobtrusive-vie_2486718.png) > “There is a perennial and unobtrusive view that morality consists in such things as telling the truth, paying one's debts, respecting one's parents and doing no voluntary harm to anyone. Those are all things easy to say and hard to do; they do not attract much attention, and win little honor in the world.” [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Morality is often reduced to easy, socially praised duties that are hard to practice and rarely celebrated. **In simple terms:** Moral duties are easy to say, hard to do. Key Takeaway Practice unnoticed virtues consistently. Themes ethics virtue social norms Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - workplace - community service - family life Key Concepts moral philosophy human behavior Questions to Reflect On - Which unnoticed virtue could you embody today? - How do you value actions without recognition? A Different Perspective Virtues may be ignored when they lack external reward. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [All things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-things/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Debt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debt/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Morality Consists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality-consists-701271/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Respecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respecting/) [Respecting Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respecting-parents-229031/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Telling truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [View Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/view-morality-923075/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [We are respecting our parents' wishes…They didn't want to shelter us from the world's treacheries. They wanted us to survive them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-respecting-our-parents-wishes-they-didn-t-want-to-shelter-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“conformity. They believed in and followed the same rules, respecting parents and teachers above all. This was typical throughout Indiana—according to state historian James…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-guinn/conformity-they-believed-in-and-followed-the-same-rules-respecting/) [Jeff Guinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-guinn/) > [One of my own kids was in a class with a friend who had two mums, and that was absolutely normal right from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-leadsom/one-of-my-own-kids-was-in-a-class-with-a-friend-who-had-two-mums-and/) [Andrea Leadsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-leadsom/) > [All morality consists in a system of rules, and the essence of all morality is to be sought for in the respect which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/all-morality-consists-in-a-system-of-rules-and-the-essence-of-all/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [“Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/art-like-morality-consists-of-drawing-the-line-somewhere/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Modern morality consists in accepting the standard of one's age.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/modern-morality-consists-in-accepting-the-standard-of-one-s-age/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Man is only a moral being because he lives in society, since morality consists in solidarity with the group, and varies according to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/man-is-only-a-moral-being-because-he-lives-in-society-since-morality/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Every society and religion has rules, for both have moral laws. And the essence of morality consists, as in art, of drawing the line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/every-society-and-religion-has-rules-for-both-have-moral-laws-and-the/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [Individualism has really the higher aim. Modern morality consists in accepting the standard of one's age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/individualism-has-really-the-higher-aim-modern-morality-consists-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Morality consists of suspecting other people of not being legally married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/morality-consists-of-suspecting-other-people-of-not-being-legally/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Morality consists in this for each individual: to attempt each time to extend its region of clear expression, to try to augment its amplitude,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/morality-consists-in-this-for-each-individual-to-attempt-each-time-to/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [The world of empirical morality consists for the most part of nothing but ill will and envy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-world-of-empirical-morality-consists-for-the-most-part-of-nothing/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/art-like-morality-consists-in-drawing-the-line-somewhere/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [But then he told himself: What does it really mean to be useful? Today's world, just as it is, contains the sum of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/but-then-he-told-himself-what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-useful-today/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/one-must-be-very-particular-about-telling-the-truth-through-truth-one/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) ## More by Allan Bloom > [There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-one-thing-a-professor-can-be-absolutely-certain-of-almost/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Authentic values are those by which a life can be lived, which can form a people that produces great deeds and thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/authentic-values-are-those-by-which-a-life-can-be-lived-which-can/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Shakespeare's naturalness is attested to by the strange fact that he is the only classical author who remains popular. The critical termites are massed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/shakespeare-s-naturalness-is-attested-to-by-the-strange-fact-that-he/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [The utilitarian behaves sensibly in all that is required for preservation but never takes account of the fact that he must die...His whole life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/the-utilitarian-behaves-sensibly-in-all-that-is-required-for/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [The longing for Europe has been all but extinguished in the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/the-longing-for-europe-has-been-all-but-extinguished-in-the-young/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Students now arrive at the university ignorant and cynical about our political heritage, lacking the wherewithal to be either inspired by it or seriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/students-now-arrive-at-the-university-ignorant-and-cynical-about-our/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Human nature must not be altered in order to have a problem-free world. Man is not just a problem-solving being, as behaviorists would wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/human-nature-must-not-be-altered-in-order-to-have-a-problem-free/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Never did I think that the university was properly ministerial to the society around it. Rather I thought and think that society is ministerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/never-did-i-think-that-the-university-was-properly-ministerial-to-the/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Reason cannot establish values, and its belief that it can is the stupidiest and most pernicious illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/reason-cannot-establish-values-and-its-belief-that-it-can-is-the/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Fathers and mothers have lost the idea that the highest aspiration they might have for their children is for them to be wise... specialized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/fathers-and-mothers-have-lost-the-idea-that-the-highest-aspiration/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [As Western nations became more prosperous, leisure, which had been put off for several centuries in favor of the pursuit of property, the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/as-western-nations-became-more-prosperous-leisure-which-had-been-put/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Historicism and cultural relativism actually are a means to avoid testing our own prejudices and asking, for example, whether men are really equal or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/historicism-and-cultural-relativism-actually-are-a-means-to-avoid/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [“Man requires a healing education which returns him to himself. Rousseau's paradoxes- his attack on the arts and the sciences and his practice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/man-requires-a-healing-education-which-returns-him-to-himself/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [The failure to read good books both enfeebles the vision and strengthens our most fatal tendency - the belief that the here and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/the-failure-to-read-good-books-both-enfeebles-the-vision-and/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Life, liberty, and the pursuit of property were just what Aristotle did not talk about. They are the conditions of happiness; but the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-property-were-just-what-aristotle-did/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) [Explore all 116 Allan Bloom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) ## More All things quotes > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Moderation, honey, in all things but love and chocolate. That's my motto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bretton/moderation-honey-in-all-things-but-love-and-chocolate-that-s-my-motto/) [Barbara Bretton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bretton/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/) [Margaret D. Nadauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-d-nadauld/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The U.S. Army has recently removed the cross from the insignia worn by chaplains. In its place is a sun with its rays, symbolizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murray/the-u-s-army-has-recently-removed-the-cross-from-the-insignia-worn-by/) [Chris Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murray/) > [...God does not possess a private knowledge of Himself and a separate knowledge of all the creatures in common. The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/) [Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/) [Browse all 2,486 All things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is a perennial and unobtrusive view that morality consists in such things as telling the truth, paying one's debts, respecting one's parents and doing no voluntary harm to anyone. Those are all things easy to say and hard to do; they do not attract much attention, and win little honor in the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Allan Bloom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-a-perennial-and-unobtrusive-view-that-morality-consists-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "All things" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-a-perennial-and-unobtrusive-view-that-morality-consists-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/allan-bloom-4105_all-things_there-is-a-perennial-and-unobtrusive-vie_2486718.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/allan-bloom-4105_all-things_there-is-a-perennial-and-unobtrusive-vie_2486718.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/allan-bloom-4105_all-things_there-is-a-perennial-and-unobtrusive-vie_2486718.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is a perennial and unobtrusive view that morality consists in such things as telling the truth, paying…” — Allan Bloom", "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": "Allan Bloom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is a perennial and unobtrusive...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-a-perennial-and-unobtrusive-view-that-morality-consists-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/there-is-a-perennial-and-unobtrusive-view-that-morality-consists-in/#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 } } ] } ```