Full Idea
The 'Republic' is the first sustained philosophical defence of the idea that virtue is its own reward.
Gist of Idea
For Plato, virtue is its own reward
Source
comment on Plato (The Republic [c.371 BCE], Ch.9) by Hugh Lawson-Tancred - Plato's Republic and Greek Enlightenment
Book Reference
Lawson-Tancred,Hugh: 'Plato's Republic and Greek Enlightenment' [Bristol Classical Press 1998], p.70
A Reaction
Sceptics might say that at the heart of his claim is the idea that the virtuous life is the best means of achieving long-term pleasure (as opposed to short-sighted hedonism). What is it about people which could make virtue attractive to them?