--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The moral which presents itself to my…" description: "\"“The moral which presents itself to my reflections, as drawn from Hollingsworth's character and errors, is simply this, that, admitting what is called ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_character_the-moral-which-presents-itself-to-my-re_2124853.jpg" --- # The moral which presents itself to my reflections, as… ![“The moral which presents itself to my reflections, as drawn from Hollingsworth's character and errors, is simply this, that, admitting what is called philanthropy, when adopted as a profession, to be often useful by its energetic impulse to society at large, it is perilous to the individual whose…” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_character_the-moral-which-presents-itself-to-my-re_2124853.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_character_the-moral-which-presents-itself-to-my-re_2124853.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_character_the-moral-which-presents-itself-to-my-re_2124853.jpg) > ““The moral which presents itself to my reflections, as drawn from Hollingsworth's character and errors, is simply this, that, admitting what is called philanthropy, when adopted as a profession, to be often useful by its energetic impulse to society at large, it is perilous to the individual whose ruling passion, in one exclusive channel, it thus becomes. It”” [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Philanthropy as a career can be socially beneficial but may consume the individual, risking personal loss. **In simple terms:** Helping others can cost self. Key Takeaway Balance service with self‑care. Themes ethics career self‑sacrifice Mood serious thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - non‑profit work - volunteer leadership - career counseling Key Concepts altruism identity professional boundaries Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect personal identity while helping? - What boundaries are needed? A Different Perspective Excessive self‑sacrifice can lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Philanthropy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philanthropy/) ## Related quotes > [Generosity is the flower of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/generosity-is-the-flower-of-justice/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The greatest charity you can contribute to is yourself. Instead of spending a dollar to help feed hungry children, why not spend that dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-greatest-charity-you-can-contribute-to-is-yourself-instead-of/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [“I long to see a radical shift in philanthropy that will come to characterize the 21st century. That is, a reclaiming of the root…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valaida-fullwood/i-long-to-see-a-radical-shift-in-philanthropy-that-will-come-to/) [Valaida Fullwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valaida-fullwood/) > [We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a Thousand Points of Light...We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/we-can-find-meaning-and-reward-by-serving-some-higher-purpose-than/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [“If you move through the world with only your compassion, then you walk on only one leg. But if you move through the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-novogratz/if-you-move-through-the-world-with-only-your-compassion-then-you-walk/) [Jacqueline Novogratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-novogratz/) > [All philanthropy ... is only a savory fumigation burning at the mouth of a sewer. This incense offering makes the air more endurable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/all-philanthropy-is-only-a-savory-fumigation-burning-at-the-mouth-of/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [“This is perhaps as good a place as any to point out that what distinguishes many reformers from those who cannot accept their proposals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/this-is-perhaps-as-good-a-place-as-any-to-point-out-that-what/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [When kindness has left people, even for a few moments, we become afraid of them, as if their reason had left them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-kindness-has-left-people-even-for-a-few-moments-we-become-afraid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When the idea came up, (Newman's Own) I said, "Are you crazy? Stick my face on the label of salad dressing?" 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So are we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-trees-reflected-in-the-river-they-are-unconscious-of-a-spiritual/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at its circumference unbroken sequences of teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-dismaying-thing-about-the-classic-totalitarian-mind-is-that-any/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire, I longed to kindle one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/my-heart-was-a-habitation-large-enough-for-many-guests-but-lonely-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Wherever there is a heart and an intellect, the diseases of the physical frame are tinged with the peculiarities of these.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/wherever-there-is-a-heart-and-an-intellect-the-diseases-of-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Generosity is the flower of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/generosity-is-the-flower-of-justice/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“he seemed to be in quest for mental food, not heart sustenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/he-seemed-to-be-in-quest-for-mental-food-not-heart-sustenance/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Unfathomable to mere mortals is the lore of fiends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/unfathomable-to-mere-mortals-is-the-lore-of-fiends/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Possibly, he was in a state of second growth and recovery, and was constantly assimilating nutriment for his spirit and intellect from sights, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/possibly-he-was-in-a-state-of-second-growth-and-recovery-and-was/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“What wonder, then, should we be frightened by the aspect of a monster, which, after all,—though we can point to every feature of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-wonder-then-should-we-be-frightened-by-the-aspect-of-a-monster/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [As the architecture of a country always follows the earliest structures, American architecture should be a refinement of the log-house. 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