--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Duty is but a pot. It holds whatever is…" description: "\"Duty is but a pot. It holds whatever is put in it, from the greatest evil to the greatest good.\" — John Fowles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/john-fowles-816_duty_duty-is-but-a-pot-it-holds-whatever-is-p_572983.png" --- # Duty is but a pot. It holds whatever is put in it, from… ![“Duty is but a pot. It holds whatever is put in it, from the greatest evil to the greatest good.” quote by John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/john-fowles-816_duty_duty-is-but-a-pot-it-holds-whatever-is-p_572983.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/john-fowles-816_duty_duty-is-but-a-pot-it-holds-whatever-is-p_572983.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e7/john-fowles-816_duty_duty-is-but-a-pot-it-holds-whatever-is-p_572983.png) > “Duty is but a pot. It holds whatever is put in it, from the greatest evil to the greatest good.” [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Duty is a neutral vessel that reflects the moral quality of the actions placed within it, whether good or evil. **In simple terms:** Duty reflects what you put into it. Key Takeaway Fill duty with good intentions. Themes morality responsibility ethics Mood contemplative inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - leadership - public service - personal decisions - volunteering Key Concepts philosophy literature character development Questions to Reflect On - What values guide your sense of duty? - Can duty be redefined by intention? A Different Perspective Duty can be misused if intentions are unclear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [Pleasure, or wrong or rightly understood, Our greatest evil, or our greatest good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/pleasure-or-wrong-or-rightly-understood-our-greatest-evil-or-our/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Know one knows whether death, which people fear to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/know-one-knows-whether-death-which-people-fear-to-be-the-greatest/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [No one knows whether death, which people fear to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/no-one-knows-whether-death-which-people-fear-to-be-the-greatest-evil/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [wherever you find the greatest good, you will find the greatest evil, because evil loves paradise as much as good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/wherever-you-find-the-greatest-good-you-will-find-the-greatest-evil/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [He felt that there is a loose balance of good and evil, and that the art of living consists in getting the greatest good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/machado-de-assis/he-felt-that-there-is-a-loose-balance-of-good-and-evil-and-that-the/) [Machado de Assis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/machado-de-assis/) > [The acknowledgement of having suffered evil is the greatest step forward in mental health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/the-acknowledgement-of-having-suffered-evil-is-the-greatest-step/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [Inability to tell good from evil is the greatest worry of man's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/inability-to-tell-good-from-evil-is-the-greatest-worry-of-man-s-life/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“Hope is the greatest gift and the greatest evil...Hope saved us and hope might yet kill us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/hope-is-the-greatest-gift-and-the-greatest-evil-hope-saved-us-and/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [“the greatest evil perpetrated is the evil committed by nobodies, that is, by human beings who refuse to be persons”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-greatest-evil-perpetrated-is-the-evil-committed-by-nobodies-that/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [The biggest disease today is not leprosy or cancer or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling or being unwanted, uncared for, deserted by everybody. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-biggest-disease-today-is-not-leprosy-or-cancer-or-tuberculosis/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Let me ask you a question Alex. What do you think is the greatest evil on this plant today?" "Is that including, or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/let-me-ask-you-a-question-alex-what-do-you-think-is-the-greatest-evil/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [No man can be brave who thinks pain the greatest evil; nor temperate, who considers pleasure the highest good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/no-man-can-be-brave-who-thinks-pain-the-greatest-evil-nor-temperate/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [The greatest evil is not done in those sordid dens of evil that Dickens loved to paint ... but is conceived and ordered (moved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-greatest-evil-is-not-done-in-those-sordid-dens-of-evil-that/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I do not believe I have any immortality. The greatest evil in the world today is the Christian religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/i-do-not-believe-i-have-any-immortality-the-greatest-evil-in-the/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [The greatest evil that one has to fight constantly, every minute of the day until one dies, is the worst part of oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mcgoohan/the-greatest-evil-that-one-has-to-fight-constantly-every-minute-of/) [Patrick McGoohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mcgoohan/) ## More by John Fowles > [I am infinitely strange to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-am-infinitely-strange-to-myself/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [I do not plan my fiction any more than I normally plan woodland walks; I follow the path that seems most promising at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-do-not-plan-my-fiction-any-more-than-i-normally-plan-woodland-walks/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“The sky is absolutely empty. Beautifully pure and empty. As if the architects and builders would live in all the houses they built! Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-sky-is-absolutely-empty-beautifully-pure-and-empty-as-if-the/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“The evolution of human mentality has put us all in vitro now, behind the glass wall of our own ingenuity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-evolution-of-human-mentality-has-put-us-all-in-vitro-now-behind/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Most marriages recognize this paradox: Passion destroys passion; we want what puts an end to wanting what we want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/most-marriages-recognize-this-paradox-passion-destroys-passion-we/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [That is the great distinction between the sexes. Men see objects, women see the relationships between objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/that-is-the-great-distinction-between-the-sexes-men-see-objects-women/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [The craving to risk death is our last great perversion. We come from night, we go into night. Why live in night?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-craving-to-risk-death-is-our-last-great-perversion-we-come-from/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [There is only one good definition of God: the freedom that allows other freedoms to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/there-is-only-one-good-definition-of-god-the-freedom-that-allows/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [They looked down on her; and she looked up through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/they-looked-down-on-her-and-she-looked-up-through-them/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Long afterwards I realized why some men, racing drivers and their like, become addicted to speed. There are those of us who never see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/long-afterwards-i-realized-why-some-men-racing-drivers-and-their-like/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [The best wines take the longest to mature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-best-wines-take-the-longest-to-mature/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [But however good you get at translating personality into line or paint it's no go if your personality isn't worth translating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/but-however-good-you-get-at-translating-personality-into-line-or/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Liking other people is an illusion we have to cherish in ourselves if we are to live in society. It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/liking-other-people-is-an-illusion-we-have-to-cherish-in-ourselves-if/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Do you know that every great thing in the history of art and every beautiful thing in life is actually what you call nasty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/do-you-know-that-every-great-thing-in-the-history-of-art-and-every/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Yet this distance, all those abysses unbridged and then unbridgeable by radio, television, cheap travel and the rest, was not wholly bad. People knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/yet-this-distance-all-those-abysses-unbridged-and-then-unbridgeable/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) [Explore all 341 John Fowles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## More Duty quotes > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Few political debates have been as divisive as the European one. I fought as hard as I could on the Remain side, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/few-political-debates-have-been-as-divisive-as-the-european-one-i/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Is that what they teach you at the convent? That the gods demand the hearts from our bodies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lafevers/is-that-what-they-teach-you-at-the-convent-that-the-gods-demand-the/) [Robin LaFevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lafevers/) > [The less we show our love to a woman, Or please her less, and neglect our duty, The more we trap and ruin her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/the-less-we-show-our-love-to-a-woman-or-please-her-less-and-neglect/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“You have a right to be sad, and a duty to move on. Only wins who wipes the tears, gather strength and move forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-branco/you-have-a-right-to-be-sad-and-a-duty-to-move-on-only-wins-who-wipes/) [Augusto Branco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-branco/) > [Our duty as Christians is always to keep heaven in our eye and earth under our feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/our-duty-as-christians-is-always-to-keep-heaven-in-our-eye-and-earth/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Regardless of how you feel about war and peace those serving military are doing a duty for the rest of us and they're protecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-cardellini/regardless-of-how-you-feel-about-war-and-peace-those-serving-military/) [Linda Cardellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-cardellini/) > [“Duty is a done deal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/duty-is-a-done-deal/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Politics...You see, it depends on what kind of politics. What we did during my father's generation was a duty. And it was beautiful because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/politics-you-see-it-depends-on-what-kind-of-politics-what-we-did/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [I do not so much rejoice that God hath made me to be a Queen, as to be a Queen over so thankful a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/i-do-not-so-much-rejoice-that-god-hath-made-me-to-be-a-queen-as-to-be/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [The whole duty of man is summed up in obedience to God's will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-whole-duty-of-man-is-summed-up-in-obedience-to-god-s-will/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) [Browse all 5,178 Duty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Duty is but a pot. 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