--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By mortifying vanity we do ourselves no…" description: "\"By mortifying vanity we do ourselves no good. It is the want of interest in our life which produces it; by filling up that want of interest in our life..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/florence-nightingale-2561_filling_by-mortifying-vanity-we-do-ourselves-no_593111.png" --- # By mortifying vanity we do ourselves no good. It is the… ![“By mortifying vanity we do ourselves no good. It is the want of interest in our life which produces it; by filling up that want of interest in our life we can alone remedy it.” quote by Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/florence-nightingale-2561_filling_by-mortifying-vanity-we-do-ourselves-no_593111.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/florence-nightingale-2561_filling_by-mortifying-vanity-we-do-ourselves-no_593111.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/florence-nightingale-2561_filling_by-mortifying-vanity-we-do-ourselves-no_593111.png) > “By mortifying vanity we do ourselves no good. It is the want of interest in our life which produces it; by filling up that want of interest in our life we can alone remedy it.” [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑indulgence harms us; true remedy is fulfilling genuine interests rather than seeking vanity. **In simple terms:** Vanity hurts; pursue real interests. Key Takeaway Focus on meaningful goals. Themes humility self‑awareness purpose Mood reflective serious Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - personal development - career planning - healthcare practice Key Concepts moral philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What genuine interests can replace vanity? - How do you recognize vanity in daily life? A Different Perspective Vanity can be socially reinforced, making change hard. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Filling up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filling-up/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Remedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remedy/) [Vanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vanity/) ## Related quotes > [One day, through my prayers, an overwhelming amount of love started flowing into me, filling up the dark hole that threatened to consume me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hill/one-day-through-my-prayers-an-overwhelming-amount-of-love-started/) [Julia Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hill/) > [Wives and such are constantly filling up any refrigerator they have a claim on, even its ice-compartment, with irrelevant rubbish like food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/wives-and-such-are-constantly-filling-up-any-refrigerator-they-have-a/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [As a sick kid, I always looked out the window. The objects of my observation were the sun, the seasons, the wind, crazy people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyesoon/as-a-sick-kid-i-always-looked-out-the-window-the-objects-of-my/) [Kim Hyesoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyesoon/) > [I just saw a guy filling up his gas tank with one hand and smoking with the other. Seriously?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-capshaw/i-just-saw-a-guy-filling-up-his-gas-tank-with-one-hand-and-smoking/) [Jessica Capshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-capshaw/) > [I think I know how to raise a kid. You just play catch with 'em. You just talk about life, and you distract them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/i-think-i-know-how-to-raise-a-kid-you-just-play-catch-with-em-you/) [Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/) > [People are shuffling by in long coats, with shopping bags and takeout, smoking cigarettes and feigning laughter - filling up their lives with distractions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-payne/people-are-shuffling-by-in-long-coats-with-shopping-bags-and-takeout/) [Rob Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-payne/) > [We are on the cusp of the emergence of a company of hidden men and women who with all faith and patience have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-chironna/we-are-on-the-cusp-of-the-emergence-of-a-company-of-hidden-men-and/) Mark Chironna > [Picture that the waves of golden light have now become a solid river of golden light that is constantly passing through you. Picture this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/picture-that-the-waves-of-golden-light-have-now-become-a-solid-river/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Imagine a kind of system where you have lightweight electric vehicles relatively small battery capacity, and then picking up charge wherever they park. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mitchell/imagine-a-kind-of-system-where-you-have-lightweight-electric-vehicles/) [William J. Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mitchell/) > [They called it the Terminal Bar but they had no idea that like twenty years later the place'd be filling up with terminal cases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/they-called-it-the-terminal-bar-but-they-had-no-idea-that-like-twenty/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Reagan is the only man to take the presidency as a part-time job, a means of filling up the otherwise empty hours of retirement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-hoggart/reagan-is-the-only-man-to-take-the-presidency-as-a-part-time-job-a/) [Simon Hoggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-hoggart/) > [The man with a heart cannot think about or see creatures without his eyes filling up with tears because of the immense compassion which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-of-nineveh/the-man-with-a-heart-cannot-think-about-or-see-creatures-without-his/) [Isaac of Nineveh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-of-nineveh/) > [Well Ibrox is filling up slowly, but rapidly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-sanderson/well-ibrox-is-filling-up-slowly-but-rapidly/) James Sanderson > [I do not admire a virtue like valour when it is pushed to excess, if I do not see at the same time the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/i-do-not-admire-a-virtue-like-valour-when-it-is-pushed-to-excess-if-i/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [It's a transformative experience to simply pause instead of immediately filling up space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/it-s-a-transformative-experience-to-simply-pause-instead-of-2/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) ## More by Florence Nightingale > [We know nothing of the principle of health, the positive of which pathology is the negative, except from observation and experience. And nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/we-know-nothing-of-the-principle-of-health-the-positive-of-which/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [The specific disease doctrine is the grand refuge of weak, uncultured, unstable minds, such as now rule in the medical profession. There are no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/the-specific-disease-doctrine-is-the-grand-refuge-of-weak-uncultured/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a hospital that it should do the sick no harm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/it-may-seem-a-strange-principle-to-enunciate-as-the-very-first/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [Nursing is a progressive art such that to stand still is to go backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/nursing-is-a-progressive-art-such-that-to-stand-still-is-to-go/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [“It is often thought that medicine is the curative process. It is no such thing; medicine is the surgery of functions, as surgery proper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/it-is-often-thought-that-medicine-is-the-curative-process-it-is-no/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [A hundred struggle and drown in the breakers. One discovers the new world. But rather, ten times rather, die in the surf, heralding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/a-hundred-struggle-and-drown-in-the-breakers-one-discovers-the-new/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [Newton's law is nothing but the statistics of gravitation, it has no power whatever. Let us get rid of the idea of power from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/newton-s-law-is-nothing-but-the-statistics-of-gravitation-it-has-no/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/the-very-first-requirement-in-a-hospital-is-that-it-should-do-the/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [Every nurse ought to be careful to wash her hands very frequently during the day. If her face, too, so much the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/every-nurse-ought-to-be-careful-to-wash-her-hands-very-frequently/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [I have learned to know God. I have recast my social belief... All my admirers are married; most of my friends are dead; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/i-have-learned-to-know-god-i-have-recast-my-social-belief-all-my/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [For it may safely be said, not that the habit of ready and correct observation will by itself make us useful nurses, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/for-it-may-safely-be-said-not-that-the-habit-of-ready-and-correct/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [I cannot remember the time when I have not longed for death. ... for years and years I used to watch for death as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/i-cannot-remember-the-time-when-i-have-not-longed-for-death-for-years/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [A dark house is always an unhealthy house, always an ill-aired house, always a dirty house. Want of light stops growth and promotes scrofula,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/a-dark-house-is-always-an-unhealthy-house-always-an-ill-aired-house/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [If I could give you information of my life, it would be to show how a woman of very ordinary ability has been led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/if-i-could-give-you-information-of-my-life-it-would-be-to-show-how-a/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) > [Variety of form and brilliancy of colour in the objects presented to patients are actual means of recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/variety-of-form-and-brilliancy-of-colour-in-the-objects-presented-to/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) [Explore all 160 Florence Nightingale quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) ## More Filling quotes > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [The sun, a red wheel, was sinking slowly in the west. Besides being spectacularly beautiful, the early-summer sunset was exceedingly soft and gentle: black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/the-sun-a-red-wheel-was-sinking-slowly-in-the-west-besides-being/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [Because of my tremendous respect for Bob Barker and for the show's high standards of professionalism I consider this a tremendous honor that few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-west/because-of-my-tremendous-respect-for-bob-barker-and-for-the-show-s/) [Randy West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-west/) > [The only way to Heaven is prayer; a prayer of the heart, which every one is capable of, and not of reasonings which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/the-only-way-to-heaven-is-prayer-a-prayer-of-the-heart-which-every/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) > [There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and recede, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/there-was-a-time-when-idealistic-folksingers-such-as-myself-believed/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [ \[The Utopia of Rules\] should offer a challenge to us all. Should we just accept this bureaucracy as inevitable? Or is there a way… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-tett/the-utopia-of-rules-should-offer-a-challenge-to-us-all-should-we-just/) [Gillian Tett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-tett/) > [When most people looked at Josie Tyrell, they only saw a certain collection of bones, a selection of forms filling space. But Michael saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/when-most-people-looked-at-josie-tyrell-they-only-saw-a-certain/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I would love to say there was some contemporary artist who's work really got me thinking, but lately I have just been trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-arcangel/i-would-love-to-say-there-was-some-contemporary-artist-who-s-work/) [Cory Arcangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-arcangel/) > [I remember filling my car up in London when an 85-year-old man said to me, 'You've done our age group proud.' That made me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blackburn/i-remember-filling-my-car-up-in-london-when-an-85-year-old-man-said/) [Tony Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blackburn/) > [There is a direct line that runs from our doctrine to our actions, from what is in our minds to what is in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wells/there-is-a-direct-line-that-runs-from-our-doctrine-to-our-actions/) [Tom Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wells/) > [Once you understand the power of stimulus control, you can use it to your advantage by changing the stimuli in your environment and avoiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/once-you-understand-the-power-of-stimulus-control-you-can-use-it-to/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [“God has no interest in filling the holes within us. Rather, He wishes to eliminate them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/god-has-no-interest-in-filling-the-holes-within-us-rather-he-wishes/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Love, whether newly born, or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, this it overflows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/love-whether-newly-born-or-aroused-from-a-deathlike-slumber-must/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [People sometimes ask who I would cast in my books and I never have any idea. I don't think I could ever write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/people-sometimes-ask-who-i-would-cast-in-my-books-and-i-never-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) Browse all 543 Filling quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By mortifying vanity we do ourselves no good. It is the want of interest in our life which produces it; by filling up that want of interest in our life we can alone remedy it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Florence Nightingale" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/by-mortifying-vanity-we-do-ourselves-no-good-it-is-the-want-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Filling" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/by-mortifying-vanity-we-do-ourselves-no-good-it-is-the-want-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/florence-nightingale-2561_filling_by-mortifying-vanity-we-do-ourselves-no_593111.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/florence-nightingale-2561_filling_by-mortifying-vanity-we-do-ourselves-no_593111.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/766/florence-nightingale-2561_filling_by-mortifying-vanity-we-do-ourselves-no_593111.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By mortifying vanity we do ourselves no good. It is the want of interest in our life which produces it; by…” — Florence Nightingale", "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": "Florence Nightingale", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "By mortifying vanity we do ourselves...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/by-mortifying-vanity-we-do-ourselves-no-good-it-is-the-want-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/by-mortifying-vanity-we-do-ourselves-no-good-it-is-the-want-of/#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 } } ] } ```