virtue is its own reward

The Stoics often said virtue is its own reward. Epictetus, for example, argued that there's no reward for a person greater than doing what's good and just. In response to one of his students, who asks what good can be expected from the development of virtue, Epictetus says, "What greater good do you look for than this? You were shameless and shall be self-respecting, you were undisciplined and shall be disciplined, untrustworthy and you shall be trusted, dissolute and you shall be self-controlled. If you look for greater things than these, go on doing as you do now: not even a god can save you." And the older I get, and the more I look around at the world around me, the more I'm inclined to agree that this, in and of itself, is indeed reward enough. A virtuous person is as rare as gold and twice as precious.