--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing is properly one's duty but what…" description: "\"Nothing is properly one's duty but what is also one's interest.\" — John Wilkins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/john-wilkins-43375_duty_nothing-is-properly-one-s-duty-but-what_1065046.png" --- # Nothing is properly one's duty but what is also one's… ![“Nothing is properly one's duty but what is also one's interest.” quote by John Wilkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/john-wilkins-43375_duty_nothing-is-properly-one-s-duty-but-what_1065046.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/john-wilkins-43375_duty_nothing-is-properly-one-s-duty-but-what_1065046.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/john-wilkins-43375_duty_nothing-is-properly-one-s-duty-but-what_1065046.png) > “Nothing is properly one's duty but what is also one's interest.” [John Wilkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One’s duty aligns with personal interest, suggesting that true responsibility feels rewarding. **In simple terms:** Duty matches interest. Key Takeaway Pursue work you care about. Themes duty interest motivation Mood reflective motivational Type ethical practical When to use this quote - career decisions - volunteer work - academic research Key Concepts ethical philosophy self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - When does personal interest clash with duty? - How to balance passion and responsibility? A Different Perspective Interest may conflict with societal needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Properly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/properly/) [Properly Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/properly-duty-2622064/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [The interests of a nation, when well understood, will be found to coincide with their moral duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-interests-of-a-nation-when-well-understood-will-be-found-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We all have an interest, and a duty to future generations, to ensure that the benefits of mobility that we now take for granted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliot-morley/we-all-have-an-interest-and-a-duty-to-future-generations-to-ensure/) [Elliot Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliot-morley/) > [It is important that Miers not be confirmed unless, in her 61st year, she suddenly and unexpectedly is found to have hitherto undisclosed interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/it-is-important-that-miers-not-be-confirmed-unless-in-her-61st-year/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Why, I say, that to tax the community for the advantage of a class is not protection; it is plunder, and I entirely disclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/why-i-say-that-to-tax-the-community-for-the-advantage-of-a-class-is/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [To-day there is hardly a woman of intelligence in all America ... who is not definitely and actively concerned in some social interest, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/to-day-there-is-hardly-a-woman-of-intelligence-in-all-america-who-is/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [That which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it. Every one thinks chiefly of his own, hardly at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/that-which-is-common-to-the-greatest-number-has-the-least-care/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Be sure to do your duty today, and let God Take care of the outcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-sure-to-do-your-duty-today-and-let-god-take-care-of-the-outcome/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Obviously, the state's responsibility should be to legislate rules for a well-ordered society. It has no right or duty to creep into the bedrooms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/obviously-the-state-s-responsibility-should-be-to-legislate-rules-for/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [Islam expect every Muslim to do this duty, and if we realise our responsibility time will come soon when we shall justify ourselves worthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali-jinnah/islam-expect-every-muslim-to-do-this-duty-and-if-we-realise-our/) [Muhammad Ali Jinnah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali-jinnah/) > [England expects every man to do his duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/england-expects-every-man-to-do-his-duty/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [Writers and intellectuals have a duty to humanity. It is to insist that the human entity remains the primary asset in overall development; thus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/writers-and-intellectuals-have-a-duty-to-humanity-it-is-to-insist/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by John Wilkins > ['Tis certain that our senses are extremely disproportioned for comprehending the whole compass and latitude of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/tis-certain-that-our-senses-are-extremely-disproportioned-for/) [John Wilkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilkins/) > [Garner up pleasant thoughts in your mind, for pleasant thoughts make pleasant lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/garner-up-pleasant-thoughts-in-your-mind-for-pleasant-thoughts-make/) [John Wilkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilkins/) > [It is not the bigness of anything in this kind that can hinder its motion, if the motive faculty be answerable thereunto. We see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/it-is-not-the-bigness-of-anything-in-this-kind-that-can-hinder-its/) [John Wilkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilkins/) > [Obscurity in writing is commonly an argument of darkness in the mind. The greatest learning is to be seen in the greatest plainness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/obscurity-in-writing-is-commonly-an-argument-of-darkness-in-the-mind/) [John Wilkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilkins/) > [It's a frightening thing. To go to France, the elder daughter of the church, it's always called, and you get the feeling the church…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/it-s-a-frightening-thing-to-go-to-france-the-elder-daughter-of-the/) [John Wilkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilkins/) > [It is an excellent rule to be observed in all disputes, that men should give soft words and hard arguments; that they should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/it-is-an-excellent-rule-to-be-observed-in-all-disputes-that-men/) [John Wilkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilkins/) > [Science doesn't deliver even that much "truth"; it delivers empirically adequate generalisations, and that is all we need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/science-doesn-t-deliver-even-that-much-truth-it-delivers-empirically/) [John Wilkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilkins/) > [Yet I do seriously and on good grounds affirm it possible to make a flying chariot in which a man may sit and give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/yet-i-do-seriously-and-on-good-grounds-affirm-it-possible-to-make-a/) [John Wilkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilkins/) [Explore all 9 John Wilkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilkins/) ## 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": "Nothing is properly one's duty but what is also one's interest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Wilkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/nothing-is-properly-one-s-duty-but-what-is-also-one-s-interest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Duty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/nothing-is-properly-one-s-duty-but-what-is-also-one-s-interest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/john-wilkins-43375_duty_nothing-is-properly-one-s-duty-but-what_1065046.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/john-wilkins-43375_duty_nothing-is-properly-one-s-duty-but-what_1065046.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/john-wilkins-43375_duty_nothing-is-properly-one-s-duty-but-what_1065046.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing is properly one's duty but what is also one's interest.” — John Wilkins", "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": "John Wilkins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wilkins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nothing is properly one's duty but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/nothing-is-properly-one-s-duty-but-what-is-also-one-s-interest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wilkins/nothing-is-properly-one-s-duty-but-what-is-also-one-s-interest/#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 } } ] } ```