--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reward is its own virtue." description: "\"Reward is its own virtue.\" — Carolyn Wells" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/carolyn-wells-10684_character_reward-is-its-own-virtue-2965379_2965379.jpg" --- # Reward is its own virtue. ![“Reward is its own virtue.” quote by Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/carolyn-wells-10684_character_reward-is-its-own-virtue-2965379_2965379.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/carolyn-wells-10684_character_reward-is-its-own-virtue-2965379_2965379.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/carolyn-wells-10684_character_reward-is-its-own-virtue-2965379_2965379.jpg) > “Reward is its own virtue.” [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reward itself is valuable, independent of any external benefit. **In simple terms:** Reward is its own value. Key Takeaway Appreciate intrinsic worth. Themes ethics philosophy motivation Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - goal setting - self-reward Key Concepts intrinsic value self-sufficiency Questions to Reflect On - Why do we seek external approval? - When is intrinsic reward enough? A Different Perspective External validation can still dominate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Reward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reward/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Happiness is the reward of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-is-the-reward-of-virtue/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Life is the reward of virtue. And happiness is the goal and reward of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/life-is-the-reward-of-virtue-and-happiness-is-the-goal-and-reward-of/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The only reward of virtue is virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-only-reward-of-virtue-is-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/vice-is-its-own-reward-it-is-virtue-which-if-it-is-to-be-marketed/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Happiness is not the reward of virtue, but is virtue itself; nor do we delight in happiness because we restrain from our lusts; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-not-the-reward-of-virtue-but-is-virtue-itself-nor-do-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Honor is the reward of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/honor-is-the-reward-of-virtue/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Blessedness is not the reward of virtue but virtue itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/blessedness-is-not-the-reward-of-virtue-but-virtue-itself/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-only-reward-of-virtue-is-virtue-the-only-way-to-have-a-friend-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Virtue is not an end in itself. Virtue is not its own reward or sacrificial fodder for the reward of evil. Life is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/virtue-is-not-an-end-in-itself-virtue-is-not-its-own-reward-or/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Happiness cannot be the reward of virtue; it must be the intelligible consequence of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/happiness-cannot-be-the-reward-of-virtue-it-must-be-the-intelligible/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [“Good is good in the final hour, in the deepest pit – without hope, without witness, without reward. Virtue is only virtue in extremis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/good-is-good-in-the-final-hour-in-the-deepest-pit-without-hope/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [No matter how hard a man may labor, some woman is always in the background of his mind. She is the one reward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/no-matter-how-hard-a-man-may-labor-some-woman-is-always-in-the/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [“For when once people have begun to believe that prosperity is the reward of virtue, their next calamity is obvious. If prosperity is regarded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/for-when-once-people-have-begun-to-believe-that-prosperity-is-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [You want to be paid as well, you virtuous! You want reward for virtue, and heaven for earth, and eternity for your today?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/you-want-to-be-paid-as-well-you-virtuous-you-want-reward-for-virtue/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Where is the reward of virtue? and what recompense has nature provided for such important sacrifices as those of life and fortune, which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/where-is-the-reward-of-virtue-and-what-recompense-has-nature-provided/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More by Carolyn Wells > [“Adversity is neither friend nor foe. It is a common acquaintance whose presence is least desired, but most rewarding when embraced."- Carolyn Wells, Start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/adversity-is-neither-friend-nor-foe-it-is-a-common-acquaintance-whose/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [Invitation is the sincerest flattery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/invitation-is-the-sincerest-flattery/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [It is the interest one takes in books that makes a library. And if a library have interest it is; if not, it isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/it-is-the-interest-one-takes-in-books-that-makes-a-library-and-if-a/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [Society's the mother of convention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/society-s-the-mother-of-convention/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [Happiness is the ability to recognize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/happiness-is-the-ability-to-recognize-it/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [ There are many ways of discarding \[books\]. You can give them to friends,--or enemies,--or to associations or to poor Southern libraries. But the surest… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/there-are-many-ways-of-discarding-books-you-can-give-them-to-friends/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [I hate to do what everybody else is doing. Why, only last week, on Fifth Avenue and some cross streets, I noticed that every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/i-hate-to-do-what-everybody-else-is-doing-why-only-last-week-on-fifth/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [The books we think we ought to read are poky, dull, and dry The books that we would like to read we are ashamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/the-books-we-think-we-ought-to-read-are-poky-dull-and-dry-the-books/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [Youth is a silly, vapid state, Old age with fears and ills is rife, This simple boon I beg of Fate - A thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/youth-is-a-silly-vapid-state-old-age-with-fears-and-ills-is-rife-this/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [You wouldn't believe On All Hallow Eve What lots of fun we can make, With apples to bob, And nuts on the hob, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/you-wouldn-t-believe-on-all-hallow-eve-what-lots-of-fun-we-can-make/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [Where there's a will there's a detective story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/where-there-s-a-will-there-s-a-detective-story/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [“Adversity is neither friend nor foe. It is a common acquaintance that is desired less and rewarded most when embraced.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/adversity-is-neither-friend-nor-foe-it-is-a-common-acquaintance-that/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [Flirtation envies Love, and Love envies Flirtation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/flirtation-envies-love-and-love-envies-flirtation/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [I view askance a book that remains undisturbed for a year. Oughtn't it to have a ticket of leave? I think I may safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/i-view-askance-a-book-that-remains-undisturbed-for-a-year-oughtn-t-it/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [All through the nineties I met people. Crowds of people. Met and met and met, until it seemed that people were born and hastily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/all-through-the-nineties-i-met-people-crowds-of-people-met-and-met/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) [Explore all 64 Carolyn Wells quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) ## 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. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. 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. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Reward is its own virtue.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carolyn Wells" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/reward-is-its-own-virtue/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/reward-is-its-own-virtue/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/carolyn-wells-10684_character_reward-is-its-own-virtue-2965379_2965379.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/carolyn-wells-10684_character_reward-is-its-own-virtue-2965379_2965379.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/carolyn-wells-10684_character_reward-is-its-own-virtue-2965379_2965379.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Reward is its own virtue.” — Carolyn Wells", "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": "Carolyn Wells", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Reward is its own virtue.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/reward-is-its-own-virtue/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/reward-is-its-own-virtue/#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 } } ] } ```