virtue is her own reward

virtue is her own reward

proverb Doing something because it is morally or ethically correct should be more important and satisfying than receiving some kind of tangible reward for doing so. More commonly written as "virtue is its own reward" in modern English. A: "I went through all that trouble to find her missing dog, and all she gave me was a homemade cookie!" B: "Ah well, virtue is her own reward." No, thank you, I couldn't possibly accept that—virtue is her own reward, and I wouldn't feel comfortable taking money from you for what I did.

See also: own, reward, virtue

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