--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must be for ourselves in the long run…" description: "\"We must be for ourselves in the long run; the mild and generous are only more justly selfish than the domineering.\" — Emily Bronte" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/emily-bronte-574_generous_we-must-be-for-ourselves-in-the-long-run_1256705.png" --- # We must be for ourselves in the long run; the mild and… ![“We must be for ourselves in the long run; the mild and generous are only more justly selfish than the domineering.” quote by Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/emily-bronte-574_generous_we-must-be-for-ourselves-in-the-long-run_1256705.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/emily-bronte-574_generous_we-must-be-for-ourselves-in-the-long-run_1256705.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/156/emily-bronte-574_generous_we-must-be-for-ourselves-in-the-long-run_1256705.png) > “We must be for ourselves in the long run; the mild and generous are only more justly selfish than the domineering.” [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑interest is justified when tempered by generosity; both are forms of rightful selfishness. **In simple terms:** Being kind can be a selfish act. Key Takeaway Balance personal needs with compassionate action. Themes self‑interest generosity justice Mood thoughtful balanced Type ethical literary When to use this quote - relationships - leadership decisions - resource allocation - personal boundaries Key Concepts ethical reciprocity moral philosophy psychology of power Questions to Reflect On - When does generosity become self‑serving? - How to ensure fairness without domination? A Different Perspective Excessive selfishness can erode trust and community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Generous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generous/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) ## Related quotes > [“The mild and generous are only more justly selfish than the domineering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-mild-and-generous-are-only-more-justly-selfish-than-the/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“I believe I may assert that they were really in possession of deep and growing happiness. It ended. 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Things that appear to be obstacles are often helpful in the long run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/an-obstacle-is-often-a-stepping-stone-things-that-appear-to-be/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Joy is something you can experience even when life is not pleasurable. Even in the midst of a long run, when your legs are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-achor/joy-is-something-you-can-experience-even-when-life-is-not-pleasurable/) [Shawn Achor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-achor/) > [“And it was then that the things I've never liked to talk about began. Not that they were particularly terrible; I've no wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-it-was-then-that-the-things-i-ve-never-liked-to-talk-about-began/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Reification, the essential tendency of capitalism, can never be wholly realized. 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But all of this would be fine in the long run, if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanzi-freinacht/polarization-and-trumpism-is-in-itself-a-kind-of-political-crisis-but/) [Hanzi Freinacht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanzi-freinacht/) ## More by Emily Bronte > [Honest people don't hide their deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/honest-people-don-t-hide-their-deeds/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [He is more myself than I am. Whatever our two souls are made of, his and mine are the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/he-is-more-myself-than-i-am-whatever-our-two-souls-are-made-of-his/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I shall smile when wreaths of snow Blossom where the rose should grow; I shall sing when night's decay Ushers in a drearier day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-shall-smile-when-wreaths-of-snow-blossom-where-the-rose-should-grow/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [how cruel, your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/how-cruel-your-veins-are-full-of-ice-water-and-mine-are-boiling/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will changeit,I'mwellaware, aswinterchangesthetrees. My Love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneatha…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/my-love-for-linton-is-like-the-foliage-in-the-woods-time-will/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free; and laughing at injuries, not maddening under them! Why am I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-wish-i-were-a-girl-again-half-savage-and-hardy-and-free-and/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [The entire world is a collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-entire-world-is-a-collection-of-memoranda-that-she-did-exist-and/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“Papa talks enough of my defects, and shows enough scorn of me, to make it natural I should doubt myself. I doubt whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/papa-talks-enough-of-my-defects-and-shows-enough-scorn-of-me-to-make/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“Mama never told me I had a father.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/mama-never-told-me-i-had-a-father/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [The intense horror of nightmare came over me: I tried to draw back my arm, but the hand clung to it, and a most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/the-intense-horror-of-nightmare-came-over-me-i-tried-to-draw-back-my/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“It is not in him to be loved like me: how can she love in him what he has not?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/it-is-not-in-him-to-be-loved-like-me-how-can-she-love-in-him-what-he/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [I have lost the faculty of enjoying their destruction, and I am too idle to destroy for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-have-lost-the-faculty-of-enjoying-their-destruction-and-i-am-too/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/my-love-for-heathcliff-resembles-the-eternal-rocks-beneath-a-source/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [Tis moonlight, summer moonlight, All soft and still and fair; The solemn hour of midnight Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere, But most where trees are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/tis-moonlight-summer-moonlight-all-soft-and-still-and-fair-the-solemn/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“It expressed, plainer than words could do, the intense anguish at having made himself the instrument of thwarting his own revenge. Had it been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/it-expressed-plainer-than-words-could-do-the-intense-anguish-at/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) [Explore all 400 Emily Bronte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) ## More Generous quotes > [Plenty of white space and generous line spacing,and don't make the type size too miserly. Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) Giambattista Bodoni > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [If you take all the food aid, America is by far the most generous country. If you take the direct aid, we're very generous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-you-take-all-the-food-aid-america-is-by-far-the-most-generous/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Generous in spirit, richly poetic, and packed with memorable characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-millman/generous-in-spirit-richly-poetic-and-packed-with-memorable-characters/) [Lawrence Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-millman/) > [As most New Yorkers have done, I have given serious and generous thought to the state of my apartment should I get killed during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/as-most-new-yorkers-have-done-i-have-given-serious-and-generous/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [Love is the key to the mystery. Love by its very nature is not selfish, but generous. It seeks not its own, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/love-is-the-key-to-the-mystery-love-by-its-very-nature-is-not-selfish/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [SCIENCE! thou fair effusive ray From the great source of mental Day, Free, generous, and refin'd! Descend with all thy treasures fraught, Illumine each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-akenside/science-thou-fair-effusive-ray-from-the-great-source-of-mental-day/) [Mark Akenside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-akenside/) > [The American people are incredibly generous and even playful when you open yourself up and feed the media beast until it goes away satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-ball/the-american-people-are-incredibly-generous-and-even-playful-when-you/) [Krystal Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-ball/) > [If you're a generous person, when you get money and fame, you're going to be more generous. 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