--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human benevolence is mingled with vanity…" description: "\"Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or some other motive\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/samuel-johnson-50_benevolence_human-benevolence-is-mingled-with-vanity_981434.png" --- # Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or… ![“Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or some other motive” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/samuel-johnson-50_benevolence_human-benevolence-is-mingled-with-vanity_981434.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/samuel-johnson-50_benevolence_human-benevolence-is-mingled-with-vanity_981434.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/samuel-johnson-50_benevolence_human-benevolence-is-mingled-with-vanity_981434.png) > “Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or some other motive” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human kindness is often mixed with self‑interest, vanity, or other motives, complicating pure altruism. **In simple terms:** Good deeds may hide selfish motives. Key Takeaway Recognize mixed motives in acts of kindness. Themes altruism vanity interest motivation Mood analytical inquisitive Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - charitable giving - volunteer work - political aid Key Concepts self‑interest ego social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What motivates your generosity? - Can kindness be genuine without hidden agendas? A Different Perspective Pure selflessness is rare. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benevolence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolence/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) ## Related quotes > [“Human benevolence is totally unfair. We don’t live in a kind or generous world, yet we are kind and generous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/human-benevolence-is-totally-unfair-we-don-t-live-in-a-kind-or/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Mingled vanity and pride appear in this, that when miserable men do seek after God, instead of ascending higher than themselves as they ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/mingled-vanity-and-pride-appear-in-this-that-when-miserable-men-do/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Vanity is a motive of immense potency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/vanity-is-a-motive-of-immense-potency/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Politeness is fictitious benevolence. Depend upon it, the want of it never fails to produce something disagreeable to one or other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/politeness-is-fictitious-benevolence-depend-upon-it-the-want-of-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is not indeed certain, that the most refined caution will find a proper time for bringing a man to the knowledge of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-not-indeed-certain-that-the-most-refined-caution-will-find-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Surely nothing is more reproachful to a being endowed with reason, than to resign its powers to the influence of the air, and live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/surely-nothing-is-more-reproachful-to-a-being-endowed-with-reason/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Politeness is fictitious benevolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/politeness-is-fictitious-benevolence/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Every man has frequent grievances which only the solicitude of friendship will discover and remedy, and which would remain for ever unheeded in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/every-man-has-frequent-grievances-which-only-the-solicitude-of/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is, indeed, at home that every man must be known by those who would make a just estimate either of his virtue or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-indeed-at-home-that-every-man-must-be-known-by-those-who-would/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Spring is the season of gaiety, and winter of terror; in spring the heart of tranquility dances to the melody of the groves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/spring-is-the-season-of-gaiety-and-winter-of-terror-in-spring-the/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All imposture weakens confidence and chills benevolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-imposture-weakens-confidence-and-chills-benevolence/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The benevolence of wrapping the partridge in a vine leaf brings out its quality, just as the barrel of Diogenes brought forth the qualities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-des-essarts/the-benevolence-of-wrapping-the-partridge-in-a-vine-leaf-brings-out/) Emmanuel des Essarts > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [I rejoice that the reign of Christ is such, while it thrills the soul with emotions, and opens before the highest intellect the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-simpson/i-rejoice-that-the-reign-of-christ-is-such-while-it-thrills-the-soul/) [Matthew Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-simpson/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Benevolence quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [I rejoice that the reign of Christ is such, while it thrills the soul with emotions, and opens before the highest intellect the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-simpson/i-rejoice-that-the-reign-of-christ-is-such-while-it-thrills-the-soul/) [Matthew Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-simpson/) > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [The benevolence of wrapping the partridge in a vine leaf brings out its quality, just as the barrel of Diogenes brought forth the qualities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-des-essarts/the-benevolence-of-wrapping-the-partridge-in-a-vine-leaf-brings-out/) Emmanuel des Essarts > [“Now general benevolence was one of the leading features of the Pickwickian theory, and no one was more remarkable for the zealous manner in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/now-general-benevolence-was-one-of-the-leading-features-of-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Conservatives say the government can't end poverty by force, but they believe it can use force to make people moral. Liberals say government can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/conservatives-say-the-government-can-t-end-poverty-by-force-but-they/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [The individualism of current economic theory is manifest in the purely self-interested behaviour it generally assumes. It has no real place for fairness, malevolence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-e-daly/the-individualism-of-current-economic-theory-is-manifest-in-the/) [Herman E. Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-e-daly/) > [Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/nobody-but-a-beggar-chooses-to-depend-chiefly-upon-the-benevolence-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Want compassion is not to be numbered among the general faults of mankind. The black ingredient which fouls our disposition is envy. Hence our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/want-compassion-is-not-to-be-numbered-among-the-general-faults-of/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [When you have lived as long as I have, the div replied, you find that cruelty and benevolence are but shades of the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/when-you-have-lived-as-long-as-i-have-the-div-replied-you-find-that/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [ They \[spies\] cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/they-spies-cannot-be-properly-managed-without-benevolence-and/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Generosity during life is a very different thing from generosity in the hour of death; one proceeds from genuine liberality, and benevolence; the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/generosity-during-life-is-a-very-different-thing-from-generosity-in/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [There is in St. Paul's definite, soul-stirring assertion of the wrath of God and the reality of the judgment at hand, a truth more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-allen/there-is-in-st-paul-s-definite-soul-stirring-assertion-of-the-wrath/) [Roland Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-allen/) > [Men resemble the gods in nothing so much as in doing good to their fellow creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/men-resemble-the-gods-in-nothing-so-much-as-in-doing-good-to-their/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [General benevolence, but not general friendship, made a man what he ought to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/general-benevolence-but-not-general-friendship-made-a-man-what-he/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) [Browse all 371 Benevolence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or some other motive", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/human-benevolence-is-mingled-with-vanity-interest-or-some-other-motive/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Benevolence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/human-benevolence-is-mingled-with-vanity-interest-or-some-other-motive/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/samuel-johnson-50_benevolence_human-benevolence-is-mingled-with-vanity_981434.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/samuel-johnson-50_benevolence_human-benevolence-is-mingled-with-vanity_981434.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/samuel-johnson-50_benevolence_human-benevolence-is-mingled-with-vanity_981434.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or some other motive” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Human benevolence is mingled with vanity,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/human-benevolence-is-mingled-with-vanity-interest-or-some-other-motive/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/human-benevolence-is-mingled-with-vanity-interest-or-some-other-motive/#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 } } ] } ```