--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beneficence is a duty. He who frequently…" description: "\"Beneficence is a duty. He who frequently practices it, and sees his benevolent intentions realized, at length comes really to love him to whom he has d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/immanuel-kant-532_beneficence_beneficence-is-a-duty-he-who-frequently_1470351.jpg" --- # Beneficence is a duty. He who frequently practices it, and… ![“Beneficence is a duty. He who frequently practices it, and sees his benevolent intentions realized, at length comes really to love him to whom he has done good. When, therefore, it is said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," it is not meant, thou shalt love him first and do him good in…” quote by Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/immanuel-kant-532_beneficence_beneficence-is-a-duty-he-who-frequently_1470351.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/immanuel-kant-532_beneficence_beneficence-is-a-duty-he-who-frequently_1470351.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/immanuel-kant-532_beneficence_beneficence-is-a-duty-he-who-frequently_1470351.jpg) > “Beneficence is a duty. He who frequently practices it, and sees his benevolent intentions realized, at length comes really to love him to whom he has done good. When, therefore, it is said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," it is not meant, thou shalt love him first and do him good in consequence of that love, but, thou shalt do good to thy neighbor; and this thy beneficence will engender in thee that love to mankind which is the fulness and consummation of the inclination to do good.” [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acting benevolently creates love for humanity, not the reverse; moral duty is to do good first. **In simple terms:** Doing good leads to love for others. Key Takeaway Do good first, love follows. Themes ethics morality humanity Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - charitable work - community service - daily kindness Key Concepts deontological duty virtue ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice benevolence without expecting love? - What obstacles prevent you from doing good first? A Different Perspective Love may not arise without genuine goodwill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beneficence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beneficence/) [Benevolence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolence/) [Charity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charity/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love thy neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-thy-neighbor/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) ## Related quotes > [Beneficence is a duty; and he who frequently practices it, and sees his benevolent intentions realized comes, at length, really to love him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/beneficence-is-a-duty-and-he-who-frequently-practices-it-and-sees-his/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Beneficence is a duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/beneficence-is-a-duty/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [However benevolent may be the intentions of Providence, they do not always advance the happiness of the individual. Providence has always higher ends in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-von-humboldt/however-benevolent-may-be-the-intentions-of-providence-they-do-not/) [Wilhelm von Humboldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-von-humboldt/) > [“This emphasis on the difference between intentions and ultimate results constituted an implicit critique of the Christian and civic republican traditions, and continues to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-z-muller/this-emphasis-on-the-difference-between-intentions-and-ultimate/) [Jerry Z. Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-z-muller/) > [“With so much at stake, and so many fortunes to be made, benevolent intentions can easily be drowned out. She”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lebbon/with-so-much-at-stake-and-so-many-fortunes-to-be-made-benevolent/) [Tim Lebbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lebbon/) > [Wherever the tree of beneficence takes root, it sends forth branches beyond the sky!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/wherever-the-tree-of-beneficence-takes-root-it-sends-forth-branches/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [I cannot persuade myself that a beneficient and omnipotent God would have designedly created...that a cat should play with mice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-cannot-persuade-myself-that-a-beneficient-and-omnipotent-god-would/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Virtue . . . is nearly connected with the heart: I have called it Beneficence; not in the very limited sense that is generally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-louise-germaine-de-sta-l/virtue-is-nearly-connected-with-the-heart-i-have-called-it/) [Anne-Louise-Germaine de Staël](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-louise-germaine-de-sta-l/) > [In accordance with the divine wisdom, genesis can only take place through destruction, and without destruction of the individual members of the species the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/in-accordance-with-the-divine-wisdom-genesis-can-only-take-place/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [The state has physical power and uses it when necessary; the power of religion is love and beneficence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/the-state-has-physical-power-and-uses-it-when-necessary-the-power-of/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [To act and act wisely when the time for action comes, to wait and wait patiently when it is time for repose, put man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-blavatsky/to-act-and-act-wisely-when-the-time-for-action-comes-to-wait-and-wait/) [H. P. Blavatsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-blavatsky/) > [That is a true sentiment which makes us feel that we do not love our country less, but more, because we have laid up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-penrhyn-stanley/that-is-a-true-sentiment-which-makes-us-feel-that-we-do-not-love-our/) [Arthur Penrhyn Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-penrhyn-stanley/) > [The indescribable innocence of and beneficence of Nature,-of sun and wind and rain, of summer and winter,-such health, such cheer, they afford forever!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-indescribable-innocence-of-and-beneficence-of-nature-of-sun-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The moral duty of man consists of imitatingthe moral goodness and beneficence of God,manifested in the creation, toward all His creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-moral-duty-of-man-consists-of-imitatingthe-moral-goodness-and/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Private beneficence is totally inadequate to deal with the vast numbers of the city's disinherited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/private-beneficence-is-totally-inadequate-to-deal-with-the-vast/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) ## More by Immanuel Kant > [Even if a civil society were to be dissolved by the consent of all its members (e.g., if a people inhabiting an island decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/even-if-a-civil-society-were-to-be-dissolved-by-the-consent-of-all/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [How then is perfection to be sought? Wherein lies our hope? In education, and in nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/how-then-is-perfection-to-be-sought-wherein-lies-our-hope-in/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Heaven has given human beings three things to balance the odds of life: hope, sleep, and laughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/heaven-has-given-human-beings-three-things-to-balance-the-odds-of/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Beauty presents an indeterminate concept of Understanding, the sublime an indeterminate concept of Reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/beauty-presents-an-indeterminate-concept-of-understanding-the-sublime/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Freedom is that faculty that enlarges the usefulness of all other faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-is-that-faculty-that-enlarges-the-usefulness-of-all-other/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Philosophical knowledge is the knowledge gained by reason from concepts ; mathematical knowledge is the knowledge gained by reason from the construction of concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/philosophical-knowledge-is-the-knowledge-gained-by-reason-from/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [A categorical imperative would be one which represented an action as objectively necessary in itself, without reference to any other purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/a-categorical-imperative-would-be-one-which-represented-an-action-as/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [When I could have used a wife, I could not support one; and when I could support one, I no longer needed any](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/when-i-could-have-used-a-wife-i-could-not-support-one-and-when-i/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Enlightenment is the liberation of man from his self-caused state of minority... Supere aude! Dare to use your own understanding!is thus the motto of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/enlightenment-is-the-liberation-of-man-from-his-self-caused-state-of/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [The ideal of the supreme being is nothing but a regulative principle of reason which directs us to look upon all connection in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-ideal-of-the-supreme-being-is-nothing-but-a-regulative-principle/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“Jeg skal alltid handle slik at den regelen jeg handler etter kunne gjelde som allmenn lov.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/jeg-skal-alltid-handle-slik-at-den-regelen-jeg-handler-etter-kunne/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Deaths, births, and marriages, considering how much they are separately dependent on the freedom of the human will, should seem to be subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/deaths-births-and-marriages-considering-how-much-they-are-separately/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [It is precisely in knowing its limits that philosophy consists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/it-is-precisely-in-knowing-its-limits-that-philosophy-consists/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [A society that is not willing to demand a life of somebody who has taken somebody else’s life is simply immoral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/a-society-that-is-not-willing-to-demand-a-life-of-somebody-who-has/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [. . . as to moral feeling, this supposed special sense, the appeal to it is indeed superficial when those who cannot think believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/as-to-moral-feeling-this-supposed-special-sense-the-appeal-to-it-is/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Explore all 476 Immanuel Kant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) ## More Beneficence quotes > [Private beneficence is totally inadequate to deal with the vast numbers of the city's disinherited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/private-beneficence-is-totally-inadequate-to-deal-with-the-vast/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [The moral duty of man consists of imitatingthe moral goodness and beneficence of God,manifested in the creation, toward all His creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-moral-duty-of-man-consists-of-imitatingthe-moral-goodness-and/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The indescribable innocence of and beneficence of Nature,-of sun and wind and rain, of summer and winter,-such health, such cheer, they afford forever!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-indescribable-innocence-of-and-beneficence-of-nature-of-sun-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [That is a true sentiment which makes us feel that we do not love our country less, but more, because we have laid up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-penrhyn-stanley/that-is-a-true-sentiment-which-makes-us-feel-that-we-do-not-love-our/) [Arthur Penrhyn Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-penrhyn-stanley/) > [To act and act wisely when the time for action comes, to wait and wait patiently when it is time for repose, put man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-blavatsky/to-act-and-act-wisely-when-the-time-for-action-comes-to-wait-and-wait/) [H. P. Blavatsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-blavatsky/) > [The state has physical power and uses it when necessary; the power of religion is love and beneficence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-mendelssohn/the-state-has-physical-power-and-uses-it-when-necessary-the-power-of/) [Moses Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-mendelssohn/) > [In accordance with the divine wisdom, genesis can only take place through destruction, and without destruction of the individual members of the species the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/in-accordance-with-the-divine-wisdom-genesis-can-only-take-place/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [“Virtue . . . is nearly connected with the heart: I have called it Beneficence; not in the very limited sense that is generally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-louise-germaine-de-sta-l/virtue-is-nearly-connected-with-the-heart-i-have-called-it/) [Anne-Louise-Germaine de Staël](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-louise-germaine-de-sta-l/) > [I cannot persuade myself that a beneficient and omnipotent God would have designedly created...that a cat should play with mice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-cannot-persuade-myself-that-a-beneficient-and-omnipotent-god-would/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Wherever the tree of beneficence takes root, it sends forth branches beyond the sky!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/wherever-the-tree-of-beneficence-takes-root-it-sends-forth-branches/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [While dwelling with pleasing satisfaction upon the superior excellence of our political institutions, let us not be unmindful that liberty is power; that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/while-dwelling-with-pleasing-satisfaction-upon-the-superior/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-fruits-of-charity-are-joy-peace-and-mercy-charity-demands/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Every man who becomes heartily and understandingly a channel of the Divine beneficence is enriched through every league of his life. Perennial satisfaction springs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/every-man-who-becomes-heartily-and-understandingly-a-channel-of-the/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [The Angels are the dispensers and administrators of the Divine beneficence toward us. They regard our safety, undertake our defense, direct our ways, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/the-angels-are-the-dispensers-and-administrators-of-the-divine/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Advance warning of Katrina's path was wrested from mute Nature by meteorological calculations and satellite imagery. God told no one of His plans. Had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/advance-warning-of-katrina-s-path-was-wrested-from-mute-nature-by/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) [Browse all 58 Beneficence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beneficence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Beneficence is a duty. He who frequently practices it, and sees his benevolent intentions realized, at length comes really to love him to whom he has done good. When, therefore, it is said, \"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,\" it is not meant, thou shalt love him first and do him good in consequence of that love, but, thou shalt do good to thy neighbor; and this thy beneficence will engender in thee that love to mankind which is the fulness and consummation of the inclination to do good.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Immanuel Kant" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/beneficence-is-a-duty-he-who-frequently-practices-it-and-sees-his/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beneficence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/beneficence-is-a-duty-he-who-frequently-practices-it-and-sees-his/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/immanuel-kant-532_beneficence_beneficence-is-a-duty-he-who-frequently_1470351.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/immanuel-kant-532_beneficence_beneficence-is-a-duty-he-who-frequently_1470351.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/immanuel-kant-532_beneficence_beneficence-is-a-duty-he-who-frequently_1470351.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Beneficence is a duty. 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