Altruism is the maximum capacity for selflessness that a person can show when helping someone else.
This term was created by Auguste Comte, a French philosopher who wanted to define a concept that opposed selfishness. It consists of seeking the good of others in a selfless manner even when it may go against one’s own interests. If you want to delve deeper into this concept, you will be interested in this selection of the best phrases about altruism
With this collection of quotes and thoughts about altruism, we can reflect on our actions and the importance of helping others, without expecting any kind of reward.
1. A friend, a person who is truly understanding, who takes the time to listen to us and consider our problems, can change our view of the world. (Elton Mayo)
A true friend is one who not only listens to our problems, but also gives us advice to deal with such a situation.
2. The great passions can give us a sense of accelerated life, the ecstasy and pain of love, the various forms of enthusiastic activity, selfless or not, that come naturally to many of us. (Walter Pater)
We must live each day in such a way that neither problems nor any situation triggers positive or negative enthusiasms that we may regret later.
3. Man is an uninteresting miracle. (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
The help we provide to others must be selfless.
4. It is time to stop seeing our friendships as a luxury and start recognizing them for what they really are: a powerful means to invest in our well-being, development and community. (Miriam Kirmayer)
Friendship is a union that will last depending on our behavior.
5. Humanity needs dreamers, for whom the selfless development of an enterprise is so captivating that it is impossible for them to devote their care to their own material benefit. (Marie Curie)
We must focus on helping others as if they were family.
6. Generosity is, by definition, selfless. (Piero Ferrucci)
Being generous should be a selfless act.
7. Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the achievement. Total effort is total victory. (Mahatma Gandhi)
Don’t focus on the goal, but on the path that leads you to it.
8. Of all varieties of virtue, generosity is the most esteemed. (Aristotle)
A generous person is worth knowing.
9. The best way to be remembered is to show a generous heart. (George Sand)
Generosity is a way for someone to remember us.
10. With time and maturity, you will discover that you have two hands; one to help you and one to help others. (Audrey Hepburn)
Just as you seek a better quality of life for yourself, you should also do so with others.
11. Generosity, kindness, honesty and a sense of humor make us really rich. (Waylon Lewis)
Material things are not what generate wealth, but those that come from the heart.
12. True generosity is an offering; given freely and out of pure love. No strings attached. No expectations. (Suze Orman)
When help is given, it must be selfless and full of love.
13. When you give alms, do not blow the trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to be praised by men. (Saint Matthew)
Don’t let others know how kind you are.
14. Those who love themselves are very affectionate, generous and kind; They express their self-confidence through humility, forgiveness and inclusion. (Sanaya Roman)
Humility and forgiveness must be the fundamental basis of every person.
15. The law of prosperity is generosity. If you want more, give more. (Bob Proctor)
With the same measure you give to others, life will reward you.
16. The most generous people are those who give silently without hope of praise or rewards. (Carol Ryrie Brink)
If you are going to help someone, do it in such a way that others will not find out.
17. We must give as we would receive, with joy, speed and without hesitation; since there is no fun in a benefit that sticks to the fingers. (Seneca)
If you receive you also have to give.
18. The great lesson is that the sacred is hidden in the ordinary, in everyday life: in neighbors, friends, family; in our own backyard. (Abraham Maslow)
Every day is a new opportunity to give to those in need.
19. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. (Theodore Roosevelt)
Not only is money a form of help, but so is a hug or listening to someone.
20. Even the most disinterested love is, after all, nothing more than a kind of bargain, in which self-love always aims to win in one way or another. (François de La Rochefoucauld)
When you help someone, do it with true love.
21. Interest, which blinds some, illuminates others. (François de la Rochefoucauld)
Don’t do things out of interest, it’s useless.
22. If you want to get attention by doing a good deed, then it is not a good deed, it is a selfish act. Because? Not only have you patted yourself on the back, but you are encouraging others to do the same. (Donna Lynn Hope)
When giving help, make sure no one sees you.
23. No worthy man will ask to be thanked for that which costs him nothing. (Terentius)
Don’t ask for anything in exchange for offering help.
24. The most generous tend to be the most humble. (Rene Descartes)
Humility is a great act of love towards others.
25. If they ever don’t give you the expected smile, be generous and give yours. Because no one needs a smile as much as someone who doesn’t know how to smile at others. (Dalai Lama)
Smiling can change sadness into joy.
26. The heart that gives, gathers. (Tao Te Ching)
Whatever you give selflessly will come back to you abundantly.
27. My intention is to be generous of spirit and live with total integrity every day of my life. (Deepak Chopra)
Being generous is a lifestyle that pleases the spirit and comforts the heart.
28. Generosity, kindness, honesty and a sense of humor make us really rich. (Waylon Lewis)
Generosity should not be disclosed openly.
29. Generosity occurs in the heart, selfishness is approved by the mind. (Dr. TP Chis)
Keep your heart away from selfishness.
30. Even karma rewards generosity. The good you do must be returned to you. (Chinonye J. Chidalue)
What you give today will come back to your life tomorrow.
31. Liberality is the first daughter of love and the most attractive lodestone for the irons of the will. (Lope de Vega)
Altruism is synonymous with love.
32. Only a happy person can make another happy. (Phil Bosmans)
Happiness is contagious, so learn to be happy.
33. Be good, be kind, be humane and charitable, love your fellow men, comfort the afflicted; forgive those who have hurt you. (Zoroaster)
Treat the others as you want the others treat you.
34. Discover inner energy and deliver it to renew the world; here is altruism. (Rafael Barrett)
Give your best, give your heart.
35. Anonymity is the most genuine expression of altruism. (Eric Gibson)
Don’t brag about the charity you do.
36. We have been taught that ego is synonymous with evil and altruism is the ideal of virtue. But while the creator is selfish and intelligent, the altruist is an idiot who does not think, does not feel, does not judge, does not act. These are functions of the ego. (Ayn Rand)
There is no point in doing a good act if we do it to appear better.
37. Where grace happens, generosity happens. (Max Lucado)
Every moment provides the opportunity to practice generosity.
38. No one has more love than he who gives his life for those he loves. (Paul Claudel)
Whoever gives everything with love, receives the same.
39. Life is not about understanding, but about loving, helping others and working. (Alexis Carrel)
Helping others should be every person’s goal.
40. There is no better springboard than a bad conscience to jump into philanthropy. (John Ernst Steinbeck)
If a person wants to redeem himself, he only has to practice philanthropy.
41. Sometimes we are altruistic and other times selfish. Without selfishness we could not survive, and without altruism we could not coexist. (Mario Bunge)
There are times when selfishness is stronger than the desire to help.
42. If we can make someone more cheerful and happy, we should do it anyway. (H. Hesse)
Seeing others happy for our actions is something priceless.
43. It is in giving that we receive. (San Francisco de Asis)
The more you give, the more you will receive.
44. Love is the only thing that grows when it is shared. (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
The satisfaction of giving is what really matters.
45. This is the life-giving power of generosity: doing good for others, simply because you can. (Jan Grace)
If you can help someone, then don’t miss the opportunity to do so.
46. By feeding selfishness you will never be part of the builders of Peace. (Antonio Paez Pinzon)
Selfishness does not generate peace.
47. You will recognize a true teacher by his altruism. (Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov)
A good teacher is one who teaches through generosity.
48. Being humble towards superiors is a duty; towards equals, a show of courtesy; For inferiors, a proof of nobility. (Benjamin Franklin)
Don’t help someone who is at the same level as you as it makes no sense, but focus on those most in need.
49. A man only has the right to look down on another when he has to help him up. (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
No one has the right to humiliate others just for the sake of helping them.
50. Anonymity is the most genuine expression of altruism. (Eric Gibson)
When you give help, let it be anonymous.
52. We excel at making a living but often fail at building our lives. (David G. Myers)
Focusing on helping yourself also has its rewards.
53. Every man must decide whether to walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. (Martin Luther King)
Each person has the ability to choose their path.
54. The person who does not have a charitable heart suffers from the worst of cardiac ailments. (Bob Hope)
Evil does not let the heart smile.
55. He does not give in order to receive; Giving is, in itself, an exquisite joy. (Erich Fromm)
Don’t give anything with the purpose of receiving something in return, that’s not how generosity works.
56. Generosity is what prevents things from taking over us.
Don’t accumulate wealth, because you don’t know if you’re going to enjoy it.
57. Money allows you to live better, but it is not what inspires me, I live to play football not for its economic benefits, I also play for the team and not for myself. (Leo Messi)
Things have to be done because they fill us with happiness.
58. Love never demands; always gives. (Indira Gandhi)
Don’t claim what you give.
59. If you ever doubt yourself, do it like God would: with love and altruism. That’s what I try to convey to the world. (Madonna)
Do not doubt your abilities, generosity is also towards yourself.
60. The social and virtual distances that characterize life have generated an anomaly that today we consider normal. And this distance prevents the development of empathy, without which altruism is impossible. (Daniel Goleman)
Don’t let someone’s social status make you give up helping them.
61. A worthy man should help the needy, but not increase the wealth of the rich. (Confucius)
Help those who truly need it.
62. The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good deed stealthily and let it be discovered by accident. (Charles Lamb)
Make things happen in a way that no one notices and let others discover them.
63. There is generosity in giving, but kindness in receiving. (Freya Stark)
When someone is generous to you, be gentle.
64. People who practice being grateful are usually more generous. (Lalney Garretson)
Gratitude is fundamental in life.
65. Let’s try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are all born selfish. (Richard Dawkins)
Generosity is learned just like selfishness.
66. He who does not live to serve is not useful to live. (Mother Teresa of Calcutta)
Helping others is a duty that we all must have.
67. Altruism is the doctrine that requires man to live for others and place others above himself. (Ayn Rand)
Teaching others to be self-sufficient is a way of being generous.
68. If there are two moral attitudes that our time urgently needs, they are self-control and altruism. (Daniel Goleman)
Control your expenses and focus on helping those in need.
69. The greatest joys, on the other hand, are not those that we ourselves enjoy, but those that we provide for others. (Baron Pierre De Coubertin)
The joy of the people we help is the best reward we can have.
70. The lack of generosity in winning diminishes the merit and fruits of victory. (Giuseppe Mazzini)
Don’t allow your life to lack generosity.
71. What you do for others will bear fruit for you. (Sinhalese proverb)
Do good without looking to see who will reward you.
72. Remember that the happiest people are not those who receive more, but those who give more. (H. Jackson Brown Jr.)
True happiness comes when we give from the heart.
73. Generosity is not giving me what I need more than you, but giving me what you need more than me. (Khalil Gibran)
Letting go of what we think we need is the essence of altruism.
74. This is the life-giving power of generosity: doing good for others, simply because you can. (Jan Grace)
Don’t stop being generous since, even in cases of poverty, there is always something to give.
75. When our attitude towards ourselves is great and our attitude towards others is generous and merciful, we attract large and generous portions of success. (W. Clement Stone)
Success depends on the degree of generosity we have.
76. Generosity is giving more than you can. (Khalil Gibran)
Generosity is not giving what you have left, it is giving what you have.
77. Charity begins in my house, and justice at the next door. (Charles Dickens)
We must begin altruism at home and respect in the neighbor’s home.
78. True generosity is an offering; given freely and out of pure love. No strings attached. No expectations. (Suze Orman)
May your generosity be free and full of love.
79. The hidden root does not ask for any reward for filling the branches with fruit. (Rabindranath Tagore)
Do your acts of generosity silently.
80. Vanity always betrays our prudence and even our interest. (Jacinto Benavente)
Don’t believe yourself superior to others just because you are generous.
81. Our culture places great importance on self-expression, but is relatively uninterested in producing “selves” worth expressing. (Matthew Kelly)
Egocentrism does not go hand in hand with altruism.
82. Friendship has a profound effect on physical well-being. Having good personal relationships helps improve health and combats depression. (Eugene Kennedy)
Friendship is a way to help you achieve catharsis.
83. Love as you can, love who you can, love as much as you can. Don’t worry about the purpose of your love. (Loved nerve)
Love without measure, be generous in that.
84. Generosity is compassion in action, and it is love in action. (Barbara Bonner)
Compassion is full of love, it is an act of generosity.
85. Drawing attention to your own generosity is equivalent to indicating that others are indebted to you and that you expect compensation. (Marvin Harris)
Do not divulge your generosity because, if you do, it is waiting for something that may not come.
86. For me, true generosity is like this: you give everything and always feel as if it cost you nothing. (Simone de Beauvoir)
If you complain about what you give, then don’t do it.
87. Be a warrior when it comes to fulfilling your ambitions and a saint when it comes to treating people with respect, modeling generosity, and showing yourself with absolute love. (Robin S. Sharma)
Fight to achieve your goals, but also try to be humble with others.
88. One has not finished living the day until one has done something for another who will never repay you. (John Bunyan)
Don’t let your day end without first helping someone.
89. Be blessed. In the same way that you are transforming your life, transform the lives of others around you. (Paulo Coelho)
Just as you seek to change your life, do the same with others.
90. Love is the forgetting of the self. (Henri-Frédéric Amiel)
Those who truly love focus on others and not on themselves.
91. I love how you can be both the most selfish and the most generous person. (Vera Farmiga)
You can be selfish at some point, but at the same time be generous.
92. But the generous man will think generosities, and by generosities he will be exalted. (Bible proverb)
Generosity makes people who practice it recognized at the right time.
93. Not taking revenge on an enemy when the opportunity is found is a proof of humility; but to feel sorry for him when he has fallen from grace is the greatest sign of generosity. (Plato)
Do not respond with offenses to those who have offended you, life will take care of putting everything in its place.
94. Generosity does not need reward; it pays for itself. (Hippolyte de Livry)
Being generous makes the reward you get greater.
95. Happiness is when what you think, say and do are in harmony. (Mahatma Gandhi)
Look for your thoughts and actions to be on the same path.
96. True friendship must be based on the things we share and will share in the future, without any intention of getting anything in return for it. (Jorge Bucay)
True friends support each other without expecting any reward.
97. I love you without you loving me, which is true loving because loving so that you love me is loving out of interest. (Juan Balderrama)
Love should be given without any interest.
98. Writing is being disinterested. There is a certain renunciation in art. (Anthony Burgess)
You have to give up certain things when you truly practice altruism.
99. Friendship is an emotional relationship based on communication, understanding, mutual support, affection and harmony between its members. (Carl Rogers)
Friendship is a bond that depends a lot on supporting each other.
100. The lack of generosity in winning diminishes the merit and fruits of victory. (Giuseppe Mazzini)
