--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We may observe that, in displaying the…" description: "\"We may observe that, in displaying the praises of any humane, beneficent man, there is one circumstance which never fails to be amply insisted on, name..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/david-hume-538_circumstances_we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-pr_67995.jpg" --- # We may observe that, in displaying the praises of any… ![“We may observe that, in displaying the praises of any humane, beneficent man, there is one circumstance which never fails to be amply insisted on, namely, the happiness and satisfaction, derived to society from his intercourse and good offices.” quote by David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/david-hume-538_circumstances_we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-pr_67995.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/david-hume-538_circumstances_we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-pr_67995.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/david-hume-538_circumstances_we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-pr_67995.jpg) > “We may observe that, in displaying the praises of any humane, beneficent man, there is one circumstance which never fails to be amply insisted on, namely, the happiness and satisfaction, derived to society from his intercourse and good offices.” [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights that the true measure of a virtuous person's worth is the positive impact they have on society through their actions and service. **In simple terms:** Impact on society defines virtue. Key Takeaway Social benefit is the core of moral worth. Themes ethics social responsibility humanism virtue public good Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - assessing historical figures - evaluating community leaders - recognizing everyday heroes Key Concepts moral evaluation social contribution human flourishing Practical Applications - policy design that rewards public service - educational curricula on civic virtue Questions to Reflect On - How do we quantify societal benefit? - What actions best reflect humane beneficence? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Good office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-office/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Intercourse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intercourse/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) ## Related quotes > [“He was a beneficent man. Multitudes of men are benevolent, but not beneficent. Benevolence is well wishing. Beneficence is well doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-massey-haldeman/he-was-a-beneficent-man-multitudes-of-men-are-benevolent-but-not/) Isaac Massey Haldeman > [How much wit, good-nature, indulgences, how many good offices and civilities, are required among friends to accomplish in some years what a lovely face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/how-much-wit-good-nature-indulgences-how-many-good-offices-and/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Our government is an agency of delegated and strictly limited powers. Its founders did not look to its preservation by force; but the chain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-davis/our-government-is-an-agency-of-delegated-and-strictly-limited-powers/) [Jefferson Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-davis/) > [Friendship is only a reciprocal conciliation of interests, and an exchange of good offices; it is a species of commerce out of which self-love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/friendship-is-only-a-reciprocal-conciliation-of-interests-and-an/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [For me, the test of a good office is how clean its toilets are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudha-murty/for-me-the-test-of-a-good-office-is-how-clean-its-toilets-are/) [Sudha Murty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudha-murty/) > [Godliness consists in the knowledge love & worship of God, Humanity in love, righteousness & good offices towards man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/godliness-consists-in-the-knowledge-love-worship-of-god-humanity-in/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [He that will do no good offices after a disappointment must stand still, and do just nothing at all. The plough goes on after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/he-that-will-do-no-good-offices-after-a-disappointment-must-stand/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [We often see malefactors, when they are led to execution, put on resolution and a contempt of death which, in truth, is nothing else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/we-often-see-malefactors-when-they-are-led-to-execution-put-on/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [After using the 'good offices' of UN diplomacy (economic sanctions and weapons inspections) to ensure that Iraq was brought to its knees, its people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/after-using-the-good-offices-of-un-diplomacy-economic-sanctions-and/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [As to the kindness you mention, I wish I could have been of more service to you than I have been, but if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/as-to-the-kindness-you-mention-i-wish-i-could-have-been-of-more/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Let him that hath done the good office conceal it; let him that received it disclose it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/let-him-that-hath-done-the-good-office-conceal-it-let-him-that/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“That's the mark of a good office. The people who do the work get on with it without bothering to tell the boss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pearce/that-s-the-mark-of-a-good-office-the-people-who-do-the-work-get-on/) Michael Pearce > [A woman means by Unselfishness chiefly taking trouble for others; a man means not giving trouble to others...thus, while the woman thinks of doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-woman-means-by-unselfishness-chiefly-taking-trouble-for-others-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no more useful members in a commonwealth than merchants. They knit mankind together in a mutual intercourse of good offices, distribute the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-are-no-more-useful-members-in-a-commonwealth-than-merchants/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Pleasure seizes the whole man who addicts himself to it, and will not give him leisure for any good office in life which contradicts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/pleasure-seizes-the-whole-man-who-addicts-himself-to-it-and-will-not/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) ## More by David Hume > [“Beauty in things exists in the mind that contemplates them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-in-things-exists-in-the-mind-that-contemplates-them/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“It is impossible for us to think of any thing, which we have not antecedently felt, either by our external or internal senses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/it-is-impossible-for-us-to-think-of-any-thing-which-we-have-not/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [All morality depends upon our sentiments; and when any action or quality of the mind pleases us after a certain manner we say it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/all-morality-depends-upon-our-sentiments-and-when-any-action-or/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. 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When I hear a man is religious , I conclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/they-all-make-up-new-species-of-crime-and-bring-unhappiness-in-their/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [There is not to be found, in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/there-is-not-to-be-found-in-all-history-any-miracle-attested-by-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“But though there be naturally a wide difference in point of delicacy between one person and another, nothing tends further to encrease and improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/but-though-there-be-naturally-a-wide-difference-in-point-of-delicacy/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Enthusiasm, being the infirmity of bold and ambitious tempers, is naturally accompanied with aspirit of liberty; as superstition, on the contrary, renders men tame…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/enthusiasm-being-the-infirmity-of-bold-and-ambitious-tempers-is/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) [Explore all 487 David Hume quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More Circumstances quotes > [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/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. 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She and her colleagues take care of children left behind by circumstances beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/my-sister-in-law-works-for-a-group-that-supports-orphanages-in-cairo/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/when-we-watch-a-play-under-the-standard-circumstances-we-ve-lost/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [Being positive helps you to keep away negative thoughts. 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You either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-complaining-about-your-circumstances-get-busy-creating-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 4,560 Circumstances quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We may observe that, in displaying the praises of any humane, beneficent man, there is one circumstance which never fails to be amply insisted on, namely, the happiness and satisfaction, derived to society from his intercourse and good offices.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Hume" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-praises-of-any-humane/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Circumstances" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-praises-of-any-humane/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/david-hume-538_circumstances_we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-pr_67995.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/david-hume-538_circumstances_we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-pr_67995.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/david-hume-538_circumstances_we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-pr_67995.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We may observe that, in displaying the praises of any humane, beneficent man, there is one circumstance…” — David Hume", "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": "David Hume", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We may observe that, in displaying...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-praises-of-any-humane/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/we-may-observe-that-in-displaying-the-praises-of-any-humane/#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 } } ] } ```