---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our moral virtues benefit mainly other…"
description: "\"Our moral virtues benefit mainly other people; intellectual virtues, on the other hand, benefit primarily ourselves; therefore the former make us unive..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/arthur-schopenhauer-226_benefits_our-moral-virtues-benefit-mainly-other-p_802312.jpg"
---

#  Our moral virtues benefit mainly other people…

![“Our moral virtues benefit mainly other people; intellectual virtues, on the other hand, benefit primarily ourselves; therefore the former make us universally popular, the latter unpopular.” quote by Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/arthur-schopenhauer-226_benefits_our-moral-virtues-benefit-mainly-other-p_802312.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/arthur-schopenhauer-226_benefits_our-moral-virtues-benefit-mainly-other-p_802312.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/arthur-schopenhauer-226_benefits_our-moral-virtues-benefit-mainly-other-p_802312.jpg)

> “Our moral virtues benefit mainly other people; intellectual virtues, on the other hand, benefit primarily ourselves; therefore the former make us universally popular, the latter unpopular.”

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Moral virtues benefit others, making one socially popular; intellectual virtues serve personal growth, often leading to isolation.

**In simple terms:** Moral acts help society; intellectual pursuits help self.

Key Takeaway

Balance social good with personal development.

Themes

ethics intellectualism social dynamics self-improvement

Mood

thoughtful analytical inspirational

Type

philosophical educational

When to use this quote

- community service
- academic study
- personal reflection
- career choices

Key Concepts

virtue ethics egoism knowledge acquisition

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you share intellectual growth socially?
- What moral actions reflect your values?

A Different Perspective

Intellectual pursuits can be socially isolating, reducing collaborative opportunities.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Benefits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefits/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Intellectual Virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-virtues-1117465/) [Latter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latter/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-virtues/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtues/) [Virtues Benefit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtues-benefit-6141127/)

## Related quotes

> [Moral virtues and intellectual virtues are very different from each other, and moral virtue has to do with motivation, not cognition. Moral virtue requires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/moral-virtues-and-intellectual-virtues-are-very-different-from-each/)

[Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/)

> [“So if the ultimate felicity of man does not consist in external things which are called the goods of fortune, nor in the goods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/so-if-the-ultimate-felicity-of-man-does-not-consist-in-external/)

[Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/)

> [The moral virtues, without religion are but cold, lifeless, and insipid; it is only religion which opens the mind to great conceptions, fills it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-moral-virtues-without-religion-are-but-cold-lifeless-and-insipid/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [“None of the moral virtues is engendered in us by nature, for no natural property can be altered by habit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/none-of-the-moral-virtues-is-engendered-in-us-by-nature-for-no/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [“Fundamental disposition towards others, assuming the character either of Envy or of Sympathy, is the point at which the moral virtues and vices of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/fundamental-disposition-towards-others-assuming-the-character-either/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [Our vices always lie in the direction of our virtues, and in their best estate are but plausible imitations of the latter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-vices-always-lie-in-the-direction-of-our-virtues-and-in-their/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [I have known persons without a friend--never any one without some virtue. The virtues of the former conspired with their vices to make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/i-have-known-persons-without-a-friend-never-any-one-without-some/)

[William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/)

> [The more civilized a nation, the more conformed its population, until that civilization's last age arrives, when multiplicity wages war with conformity. The former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-more-civilized-a-nation-the-more-conformed-its-population-until/)

[Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/)

> [Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/our-citizenship-in-the-united-states-is-our-national-character-our/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [Do not confuse fantasy with imagination; the former consumes itself in daydreaming, the latter stimulates creativity in the arts and in the sciences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fausto-cercignani/do-not-confuse-fantasy-with-imagination-the-former-consumes-itself-in/)

[Fausto Cercignani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fausto-cercignani/)

> [The difference in the education of men and women must give the former great advantages over the latter, even where geniuses are equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/the-difference-in-the-education-of-men-and-women-must-give-the-former/)

[Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/)

> [I make this chief distinction between religion and superstition, that the latter is founded on ignorance, the former on knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/i-make-this-chief-distinction-between-religion-and-superstition-that/)

[Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/)

> [There are certainly people who regard √2 as something perfectly obvious but jib at √-1. This is because they think they can visualise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-charles-titchmarsh/there-are-certainly-people-who-regard-2-as-something-perfectly/)

[Edward Charles Titchmarsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-charles-titchmarsh/)

> [Accepting the reality of our sinfulness means accepting our authentic self. Judas could not face his shadow; Peter could. The latter befriended the impostor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/accepting-the-reality-of-our-sinfulness-means-accepting-our-authentic/)

[Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/)

> [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

## More by Arthur Schopenhauer

> [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“In accordance with such zeal, by reducing the external world to a matter of faith, he wanted merely to open a little door for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-accordance-with-such-zeal-by-reducing-the-external-world-to-a/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“Imitation and custom are the spring of almost all human action. The cause of it is that men fight shy of all and any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/imitation-and-custom-are-the-spring-of-almost-all-human-action-the/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [ \[T\]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between-man-and-man-ought-to-be-not/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [The eternal being..., as it lives in us, also lives in every animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-eternal-being-as-it-lives-in-us-also-lives-in-every-animal/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [there are very few who can think, but every man wants to have an opinion; and what remains but to take it ready-made from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/there-are-very-few-who-can-think-but-every-man-wants-to-have-an/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [It is not what things are objectively and in themselves, but what they are for us, in our way of looking at them, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/it-is-not-what-things-are-objectively-and-in-themselves-but-what-they/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [ “\[Materialism\] seeks the primary and most simple state of matter, and then tries to develop all the others from it; ascending from mere mechanism,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/materialism-seeks-the-primary-and-most-simple-state-of-matter-and/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [In order to increase his pleasures, man has intentionally added to the number and pressure of his needs, which in their original state were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-order-to-increase-his-pleasures-man-has-intentionally-added-to-the/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“For the will, as that which is common to all, is for that reason also common: consequently, every vehement emergence of will is common,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/for-the-will-as-that-which-is-common-to-all-is-for-that-reason-also/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“Alles Urdenken geschieht in Bildern: darum ist die Phantasie ein so nothwendiges Werkzeug desselben, und werden phantasielose Köpfe nie etwas Großes leisten, - es…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/alles-urdenken-geschieht-in-bildern-darum-ist-die-phantasie-ein-so/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [Intellect is invisible to the man who has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/intellect-is-invisible-to-the-man-who-has-none/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [Newspapers are the second hand of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/newspapers-are-the-second-hand-of-history/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“In travelling where novelties of all kinds press in upon us, mental food is often supplied so rapidly from without that there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-travelling-where-novelties-of-all-kinds-press-in-upon-us-mental/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

[Explore all 791 Arthur Schopenhauer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

## More Benefits quotes

> [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/)

[Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/)

> [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [Shortly after I turned 50, both Ted Turner and the AARP came into my life. The only difference? With AARP, there were benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/shortly-after-i-turned-50-both-ted-turner-and-the-aarp-came-into-my/)

[Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/)

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/)

[Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/)

> [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/)

[Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/)

> [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-think-of-education-as-the-means-of-developing-our-greatest/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [To really be of benefit to others as the Buddha always taught, we ourselves must first get out of the swamp. One of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/to-really-be-of-benefit-to-others-as-the-buddha-always-taught-we/)

[Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/)

> [I won the seat of Oxley largely on an issue that has resulted in me being called a racist. That issue related to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/i-won-the-seat-of-oxley-largely-on-an-issue-that-has-resulted-in-me/)

[Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/)

> [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [I've always said that I benefit, as an actor, from not having the illusion of security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/i-ve-always-said-that-i-benefit-as-an-actor-from-not-having-the/)

[Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/)

> [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/)

[Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/)

[Browse all 3,616 Benefits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefits/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Our moral virtues benefit mainly other people; intellectual virtues, on the other hand, benefit primarily ourselves; therefore the former make us universally popular, the latter unpopular.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Arthur Schopenhauer"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/our-moral-virtues-benefit-mainly-other-people-intellectual-virtues-on/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Benefits"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/our-moral-virtues-benefit-mainly-other-people-intellectual-virtues-on/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/arthur-schopenhauer-226_benefits_our-moral-virtues-benefit-mainly-other-p_802312.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/arthur-schopenhauer-226_benefits_our-moral-virtues-benefit-mainly-other-p_802312.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b7/arthur-schopenhauer-226_benefits_our-moral-virtues-benefit-mainly-other-p_802312.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Our moral virtues benefit mainly other people; intellectual virtues, on the other hand, benefit primarily…” — Arthur Schopenhauer",
                "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": "Arthur Schopenhauer",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Our moral virtues benefit mainly other...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/our-moral-virtues-benefit-mainly-other-people-intellectual-virtues-on/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/our-moral-virtues-benefit-mainly-other-people-intellectual-virtues-on/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
