--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In proportion as a man is selfish, so far…" description: "\"In proportion as a man is selfish, so far has he receded from the motive which constitutes virtue.\" — Percy Bysshe Shelley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/963/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_character_in-proportion-as-a-man-is-selfish-so-far_3122809.jpg" --- # In proportion as a man is selfish, so far has he receded… ![“In proportion as a man is selfish, so far has he receded from the motive which constitutes virtue.” quote by Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/963/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_character_in-proportion-as-a-man-is-selfish-so-far_3122809.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/963/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_character_in-proportion-as-a-man-is-selfish-so-far_3122809.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/963/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_character_in-proportion-as-a-man-is-selfish-so-far_3122809.jpg) > “In proportion as a man is selfish, so far has he receded from the motive which constitutes virtue.” [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Selfishness distances a person from true virtue, which is rooted in altruistic motives. **In simple terms:** Selfishness blocks virtue. Key Takeaway Cultivate selflessness. Themes virtue selfishness morality human nature Mood reflective serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - leadership - community service Key Concepts ethical philosophy self‑interest altruism Questions to Reflect On - How does selfishness affect your moral choices? - Can you act virtuously without self‑interest? A Different Perspective Virtue also requires wisdom, not just self‑lessness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Constitutes Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitutes-virtue-500517/) [Man Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-selfish-783073/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Motive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motive/) [Proportion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proportion/) [Receded Motive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/receded-motive-5490282/) [Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish/) [Selfish Far](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-far-5490283/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Self-love, as it happens to be well or ill conducted, constitutes virtue and vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/self-love-as-it-happens-to-be-well-or-ill-conducted-constitutes/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“What is it that constitutes virtue, Mrs. Graham? Is it the circumstance of being able and willing to resist temptation; or that of having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/what-is-it-that-constitutes-virtue-mrs-graham-is-it-the-circumstance-2/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [.. that which renders morality an active principle and constitutes virtue our happiness, and vice our misery: it is probable, I say, that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/that-which-renders-morality-an-active-principle-and-constitutes/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [“What is it that constitutes virtue, Mrs. Graham? Is it the circumstance of being able and willing to resist temptation; or that of having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/what-is-it-that-constitutes-virtue-mrs-graham-is-it-the-circumstance/) [Anne Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [Ironically, brothers and sisters, the natural man who is so very selfish in so many ordinary ways is strangely unselfish in that he reaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/ironically-brothers-and-sisters-the-natural-man-who-is-so-very/) [Neal A. 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To give you the night I owe' ... 'Oh, Charlotte. You play with fire.' 'Do I?' Roman looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mallory/i-wish-to-pay-my-debt-to-give-you-the-night-i-owe-oh-charlotte-you/) [Anne Mallory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mallory/) > [I am giving you examples of the fact that this creature man, who in his own selfish affairs is a coward to the backbone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-am-giving-you-examples-of-the-fact-that-this-creature-man-who-in/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Curious that a man as selfish as he should be offering himself to the service of dead dogs. There must be other, more productive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/curious-that-a-man-as-selfish-as-he-should-be-offering-himself-to-the/) [J.M. 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I bleed !”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/i-fall-upon-the-thorns-of-life-i-bleed/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“Poets and philosophers are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/poets-and-philosophers-are-the-unacknowledged-legislators-of-the-world/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Dar'st thou amid the varied multitude To live alone, an isolated thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/dar-st-thou-amid-the-varied-multitude-to-live-alone-an-isolated-thing/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Spirit of BEAUTY, that dost consecrate With thine own hues all thou dost shine upon Of human thought or form, where art thou gone?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/spirit-of-beauty-that-dost-consecrate-with-thine-own-hues-all-thou/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [I love tranquil solitude, And such society As is quiet, wise, and good; Between thee and me What difference? but thou dost possess The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/i-love-tranquil-solitude-and-such-society-as-is-quiet-wise-and-good/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [The practice of utter sincerity towards other men would avail to no good end, if they were incapable of practising it towards their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-practice-of-utter-sincerity-towards-other-men-would-avail-to-no/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Thou shoreless flood, which in thy ebb and flow claspest the limits of mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/thou-shoreless-flood-which-in-thy-ebb-and-flow-claspest-the-limits-of/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [Senseless is the breast and cold Which relenting love would fold; Bloodless are the veins and chill Which the pulse of pain did fill;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/senseless-is-the-breast-and-cold-which-relenting-love-would-fold/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) [Explore all 533 Percy Bysshe Shelley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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