--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That theatrical kind of virtue, which…" description: "\"That theatrical kind of virtue, which requires publicity for its stage, and an applauding world for its audience, could not be depended on, in the secr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/charles-caleb-colton-270_audience_that-theatrical-kind-of-virtue-which-req_2745655.png" --- # That theatrical kind of virtue, which requires publicity… ![“That theatrical kind of virtue, which requires publicity for its stage, and an applauding world for its audience, could not be depended on, in the secrecy of solitude, or the retirement of a desert.” quote by Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/charles-caleb-colton-270_audience_that-theatrical-kind-of-virtue-which-req_2745655.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/charles-caleb-colton-270_audience_that-theatrical-kind-of-virtue-which-req_2745655.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/charles-caleb-colton-270_audience_that-theatrical-kind-of-virtue-which-req_2745655.png) > “That theatrical kind of virtue, which requires publicity for its stage, and an applauding world for its audience, could not be depended on, in the secrecy of solitude, or the retirement of a desert.” [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public recognition is fleeting; true virtue must stand without applause. **In simple terms:** Virtue should be internal, not for show. Key Takeaway Cultivate integrity privately. Themes virtue privacy authenticity recognition solitude Mood contemplative serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - private work - personal growth - leadership without fanfare Key Concepts ethical integrity intrinsic motivation self‑validation Questions to Reflect On - Can you act morally when no one watches? - What values guide you in solitude? A Different Perspective May be difficult to sustain without external feedback. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Publicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/publicity/) [Retirement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retirement/) [Secrecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrecy/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Theatrical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatrical/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [How many minds--almost all the great ones--were formed in secrecy and solitude!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/how-many-minds-almost-all-the-great-ones-were-formed-in-secrecy-and/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Freedom requires virtue. Virtue requires faith. And faith, in turn, requires freedom. You can't have coerced state-sanctioned religion. It has to be utterly free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-metaxas/freedom-requires-virtue-virtue-requires-faith-and-faith-in-turn/) [Eric Metaxas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-metaxas/) > [“❤️Kindness is a virtue that requires the least amount of effort and which can make the greatest profound difference throughout humanity!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/kindness-is-a-virtue-that-requires-the-least-amount-of-effort-and/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [That virtue which requires to be ever guarded is scarce worth the sentinel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/that-virtue-which-requires-to-be-ever-guarded-is-scarce-worth-the/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [In your judgment virtue requires no reward, and is to be sought for itself, unaccompanied by external benefits. \[Lat., Judice te mercede caret, per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/in-your-judgment-virtue-requires-no-reward-and-is-to-be-sought-for/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [Humility is the virtue that requires the greatest amount of effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-philippine-duchesne/humility-is-the-virtue-that-requires-the-greatest-amount-of-effort/) [Rose Philippine Duchesne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-philippine-duchesne/) > [I come from a little bit of a theatrical background. I started that way. I don't have a tremendous body of work or anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryce-dallas-howard/i-come-from-a-little-bit-of-a-theatrical-background-i-started-that/) [Bryce Dallas Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryce-dallas-howard/) > [I do think that, for instance, we've been very lucky to have theatrical careers and be associated with Shakespeare which sometimes gives you a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-branagh/i-do-think-that-for-instance-we-ve-been-very-lucky-to-have-theatrical/) [Kenneth Branagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-branagh/) > [From musicals to plays, I was part of all things theatrical all through my school life in Chandigarh, and this helped me develop a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayushmann-khurrana/from-musicals-to-plays-i-was-part-of-all-things-theatrical-all/) [Ayushmann Khurrana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayushmann-khurrana/) > [Figure skating is theatrical, and a part of it is wearing costumes. 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Theatre has to be theatrical. If you can get color into the accountant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-deliberately-look-for-colorful-people-they-re-very-right-for/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [“I was grotesque to the theatrical pitch, a stage miser, but I was certainly not a physical impossibility”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/i-was-grotesque-to-the-theatrical-pitch-a-stage-miser-but-i-was/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [My dad's family were political and he was always a theatrical creature, whereas my mum is really musical and her father was the touring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/my-dad-s-family-were-political-and-he-was-always-a-theatrical/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) ## More by Charles Caleb Colton > [Villainy that is vigilant will be an overmatch for virtue, if she slumber at her post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/villainy-that-is-vigilant-will-be-an-overmatch-for-virtue-if-she/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [To dare to live alone is the rarest courage; since there are many who had rather meet their bitterest enemy in the field, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/to-dare-to-live-alone-is-the-rarest-courage-since-there-are-many-who/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [It is doubtful whether mankind are most indebted to those who like Bacon and Butler dig the gold from the mine of literature, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-doubtful-whether-mankind-are-most-indebted-to-those-who-like/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [None are so fond of secrets as those who do not mean to keep them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/none-are-so-fond-of-secrets-as-those-who-do-not-mean-to-keep-them/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Mental pleasures never cloy; unlike those of the body, they are increased by reputation, approved by reflection, and strengthened by enjoyment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/mental-pleasures-never-cloy-unlike-those-of-the-body-they-are/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Ignorance lies at the bottom of all human knowledge, and the deeper we penetrate, the nearer we arrive unto it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/ignorance-lies-at-the-bottom-of-all-human-knowledge-and-the-deeper-we/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Heroism, self-denial, and magnanimity, in all instances where they do not spring from a principle of religion, are but splendid altars on which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/heroism-self-denial-and-magnanimity-in-all-instances-where-they-do/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [We ought not to be over-anxious to encourage innovation in cases of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-ought-not-to-be-over-anxious-to-encourage-innovation-in-cases-of/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed, but to those who have differed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/we-owe-almost-all-our-knowledge-not-to-those-who-have-agreed-but-to/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Metaphysicians have been learning their lessons for the last four thousand years, and it is high time that they should now begin to teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/metaphysicians-have-been-learning-their-lessons-for-the-last-four/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Faith and works are necessary to our spiritual life as Christians, as soul and body are to our natural life as men; for faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/faith-and-works-are-necessary-to-our-spiritual-life-as-christians-as/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [When all moves equally (says Pascal), nothing seems to move as in a vessel under sail; and when all run by common consent into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/when-all-moves-equally-says-pascal-nothing-seems-to-move-as-in-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Explore all 778 Charles Caleb Colton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. 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My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That theatrical kind of virtue, which requires publicity for its stage, and an applauding world for its audience, could not be depended on, in the secrecy of solitude, or the retirement of a desert.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Caleb Colton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/that-theatrical-kind-of-virtue-which-requires-publicity-for-its-stage/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Audience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/that-theatrical-kind-of-virtue-which-requires-publicity-for-its-stage/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/charles-caleb-colton-270_audience_that-theatrical-kind-of-virtue-which-req_2745655.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/charles-caleb-colton-270_audience_that-theatrical-kind-of-virtue-which-req_2745655.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51e/charles-caleb-colton-270_audience_that-theatrical-kind-of-virtue-which-req_2745655.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That theatrical kind of virtue, which requires publicity for its stage, and an applauding world for its…” — Charles Caleb Colton", "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": "Charles Caleb Colton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That theatrical kind of virtue, which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/that-theatrical-kind-of-virtue-which-requires-publicity-for-its-stage/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/that-theatrical-kind-of-virtue-which-requires-publicity-for-its-stage/#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 } } ] } ```