--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not seek dishonest gains: dishonest…" description: "\"Do not seek dishonest gains: dishonest gains are losses.\" — Hesiod" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/hesiod-2889_gains_do-not-seek-dishonest-gains-dishonest-ga_1488784.jpg" --- # Do not seek dishonest gains: dishonest gains are losses. ![“Do not seek dishonest gains: dishonest gains are losses.” quote by Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/hesiod-2889_gains_do-not-seek-dishonest-gains-dishonest-ga_1488784.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/hesiod-2889_gains_do-not-seek-dishonest-gains-dishonest-ga_1488784.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/hesiod-2889_gains_do-not-seek-dishonest-gains-dishonest-ga_1488784.jpg) > “Do not seek dishonest gains: dishonest gains are losses.” [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unethical shortcuts ultimately cause loss and harm. **In simple terms:** Dishonest gains lead to loss. Key Takeaway Avoid shortcuts. Themes ethics consequences integrity Mood cautious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - business decisions - personal finance - political corruption Key Concepts Moral philosophy cause and effect Questions to Reflect On - What ethical alternatives exist? - How can one resist temptation? A Different Perspective Short-term gain may mask long-term damage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Losses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losses/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [All policy is a matter of gains and losses, upsides and downsides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mandelbaum/all-policy-is-a-matter-of-gains-and-losses-upsides-and-downsides/) [Michael Mandelbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mandelbaum/) > [Gain not base gains; base gains are the same as losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/gain-not-base-gains-base-gains-are-the-same-as-losses/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [“ Gains for all our losses There are gains for all our losses There are balms for all our pains But when youth the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-h-stoddard/gains-for-all-our-losses-there-are-gains-for-all-our-losses-there-are/) R.H. Stoddard > [There are gains for all our losses, There are balms for all our pain: But when youth, the dream, departs, It takes something from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-henry-stoddard/there-are-gains-for-all-our-losses-there-are-balms-for-all-our-pain/) [Richard Henry Stoddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-henry-stoddard/) > [It is harder to cut our gains than our losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bibesco/it-is-harder-to-cut-our-gains-than-our-losses/) [Elizabeth Bibesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bibesco/) > [All stakeholders must participate in the gains and losses of any particular situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-lagarde/all-stakeholders-must-participate-in-the-gains-and-losses-of-any/) [Christine Lagarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-lagarde/) > [Price fixing does not represent simply windfall gains and losses to particular groups according to whether the price happens to be set higher or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/price-fixing-does-not-represent-simply-windfall-gains-and-losses-to/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [I think one of the major results of the psychology of decision making is that people's attitudes and feelings about losses and gains are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/i-think-one-of-the-major-results-of-the-psychology-of-decision-making/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [We learn from our wins, but we gain much more from our losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walters/we-learn-from-our-wins-but-we-gain-much-more-from-our-losses/) [Tim Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walters/) > [NBC News found that FEMA has redrawn maps even for properties that have repeatedly filed claims for flood losses from previous storms. At least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-dedman/nbc-news-found-that-fema-has-redrawn-maps-even-for-properties-that/) [Bill Dedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-dedman/) > [I take losses very personal and very serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pau-gasol/i-take-losses-very-personal-and-very-serious/) [Pau Gasol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pau-gasol/) > [Losses of a kind of satisfaction that have no market equivalent don't show up in the calculations of economists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-illich/losses-of-a-kind-of-satisfaction-that-have-no-market-equivalent-don-t/) [Ivan Illich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-illich/) > [If you look at her or him and think Somethings wrong with them; weirdos? don't be quick to judge someone ;because a paragraph isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nayely-saldana/if-you-look-at-her-or-him-and-think-somethings-wrong-with-them/) [Nayely Saldana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nayely-saldana/) > [Champions learn from their - I'm not going to say failures - but they learn from the losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-alcaraz/champions-learn-from-their-i-m-not-going-to-say-failures-but-they/) [Carlos Alcaraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-alcaraz/) > [Everybody has losses - it's unavoidable in life. Sharing our pain is very healing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/everybody-has-losses-it-s-unavoidable-in-life-sharing-our-pain-is/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## More by Hesiod > [Gain not base gains; base gains are the same as losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/gain-not-base-gains-base-gains-are-the-same-as-losses/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Aegis-bearing Zeus has a design for each occasion, and mortals find this hard to comprehend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/aegis-bearing-zeus-has-a-design-for-each-occasion-and-mortals-find/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [The best is he who calls men to the best. And those who heed the call are also blessed. But worthless who call not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/the-best-is-he-who-calls-men-to-the-best-and-those-who-heed-the-call/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [If you speak evil, you will soon be worse spoken of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/if-you-speak-evil-you-will-soon-be-worse-spoken-of/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Inhibition is no good provider for a needy man, Inhibition, which does men great harm and great good. Inhibition attaches to poverty, boldness to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/inhibition-is-no-good-provider-for-a-needy-man-inhibition-which-does/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Potter is jealous of potter, and craftsman of craftsman; and the poor have a grudge against the poor, and the poet against the poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/potter-is-jealous-of-potter-and-craftsman-of-craftsman-and-the-poor/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Preserve the mean; the opportune moment is best in all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/preserve-the-mean-the-opportune-moment-is-best-in-all-things/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [The potter is at enmity with the potter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/the-potter-is-at-enmity-with-the-potter/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [But he who neither thinks for himself nor learns from others, is a failure as a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/but-he-who-neither-thinks-for-himself-nor-learns-from-others-is-a/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Justice prevails over transgression when she comes to the end of the race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/justice-prevails-over-transgression-when-she-comes-to-the-end-of-the/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [“It is best to work, at whatever you have a talent for doing, without turning your greedy thought toward what some other man possesses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/it-is-best-to-work-at-whatever-you-have-a-talent-for-doing-without/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/i-see-no-hope-for-the-future-of-our-people-if-they-are-dependent-on/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [Do not let a flattering woman coax and wheedle you and deceive you; she is after your barn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/do-not-let-a-flattering-woman-coax-and-wheedle-you-and-deceive-you/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [In the race for wealth, a neighbor tries to outdo his neighbor, but this strife is good for men. For the potter envies potter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/in-the-race-for-wealth-a-neighbor-tries-to-outdo-his-neighbor-but/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) > [The Gods rank work above virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/the-gods-rank-work-above-virtues/) [Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) [Explore all 146 Hesiod quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/) ## More Gains quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Europe is creating the flight of refugees that's tearing it apart politically, and leading rightwing nationalist parties to gain power to withdraw from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/europe-is-creating-the-flight-of-refugees-that-s-tearing-it-apart/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [The poet reminds men of their uniqueness and it is not necessary to possess the ultimate definition of this uniqueness. Even to speculate is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/the-poet-reminds-men-of-their-uniqueness-and-it-is-not-necessary-to/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you'll love it up here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/change-your-attitude-and-gain-some-altitude-believe-me-you-ll-love-it/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [If China someday gains a more fair, just, and accountable system of government, it will be due to the hard work and efforts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/if-china-someday-gains-a-more-fair-just-and-accountable-system-of/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Some lose yet gain, others gain and yet lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-lose-yet-gain-others-gain-and-yet-lose/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some people enjoy taking a light stroll in the morning and that gives them relief and that sort of feeling. That is what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ichiro-suzuki/some-people-enjoy-taking-a-light-stroll-in-the-morning-and-that-gives/) [Ichiro Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ichiro-suzuki/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. We repeat, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/importunity-is-a-condition-of-prayer-we-are-to-press-the-matter-not/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [Professional politicians like to talk about the value of experience in government. Nuts! The only experience you gain in politics is how to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/professional-politicians-like-to-talk-about-the-value-of-experience/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [How you educate the people around you, what steps you take toward making it better, what sacrifices you make. The equation of life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-hawkins/how-you-educate-the-people-around-you-what-steps-you-take-toward/) [Andrew Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-hawkins/) Browse all 3,001 Gains quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Do not seek dishonest gains: dishonest gains are losses.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hesiod" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/do-not-seek-dishonest-gains-dishonest-gains-are-losses/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gains" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/do-not-seek-dishonest-gains-dishonest-gains-are-losses/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/hesiod-2889_gains_do-not-seek-dishonest-gains-dishonest-ga_1488784.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/hesiod-2889_gains_do-not-seek-dishonest-gains-dishonest-ga_1488784.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/hesiod-2889_gains_do-not-seek-dishonest-gains-dishonest-ga_1488784.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Do not seek dishonest gains: dishonest gains are losses.” — Hesiod", "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": "Hesiod", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Do not seek dishonest gains: dishonest...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/do-not-seek-dishonest-gains-dishonest-gains-are-losses/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/do-not-seek-dishonest-gains-dishonest-gains-are-losses/#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 } } ] } ```