Daily Inspiration Quote by Richard Steele

Steele’s line is a small act of social aikido: he turns the awkward pressure of receiving a favor into a declared ethical principle. “Point of Morality” sounds grand, almost judicial, but the situation it governs is petty and everyday - someone tries to “oblige” you, and you’re expected to respond in kind. Steele elevates reciprocity from mere etiquette to virtue, then sneaks in the real message: refusing kindness isn’t independence; it’s a moral failure.

The cleverness sits in the doubled “oblige.” In Steele’s period, to oblige is to do someone a kindness, but also to bind them. Favors create invisible contracts; politeness is a ledger. By praising the people “who endeavour to oblige me,” he applauds intention as much as outcome, offering a gracious loophole that keeps the social machine running even when the favor is clumsy, self-serving, or performative. Take the gesture; reward the attempt; don’t punish imperfect generosity.

That’s very Steele: a moralist of the coffeehouse, where reputation, credit, and sociability were currency. As a dramatist and essayist steeped in the manners of the early 18th century, he understood that civility isn’t just niceness, it’s infrastructure. The subtext is pragmatic, even slightly cynical: if you want a functioning public sphere, you must accept being “obliged” and treat that dependence as honorable. Pride masquerades as virtue; Steele calls its bluff.