--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we cannot be clever, we can always be…" description: "\"If we cannot be clever, we can always be kind.\" — Alfred Fripp" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/alfred-fripp-217746_kids_if-we-cannot-be-clever-we-can-always-be_2054973.jpg" --- # If we cannot be clever, we can always be kind. ![“If we cannot be clever, we can always be kind.” quote by Alfred Fripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/alfred-fripp-217746_kids_if-we-cannot-be-clever-we-can-always-be_2054973.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/alfred-fripp-217746_kids_if-we-cannot-be-clever-we-can-always-be_2054973.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/alfred-fripp-217746_kids_if-we-cannot-be-clever-we-can-always-be_2054973.jpg) > “If we cannot be clever, we can always be kind.” [Alfred Fripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-fripp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If cleverness fails, kindness remains a reliable virtue to act with. **In simple terms:** Kindness works when cleverness doesn’t. Key Takeaway Choose kindness when stuck. Themes kindness humanity ethics resilience relationships Mood hopeful empathetic practical Type Clever:0 Kids:0 Kind:1 Kindness:1 Clever Kind:0 When to use this quote - conflict resolution - teaching - parenting - customer service - teamwork Key Concepts compassion emotional intelligence social behavior moral choice Questions to Reflect On - When is cleverness essential? - Can kindness replace skill? A Different Perspective It may overlook the need for practical problem‑solving. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Clever Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever-kind-2010132/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) ## Related quotes > [“If you are kind to yourself, you are clever. If you are kind to others, you are wise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-you-are-kind-to-yourself-you-are-clever-if-you-are-kind-to-others/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [In the next few years I'd love to play a female version of Doctor Who. I know exactly how I would play her -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-piper/in-the-next-few-years-i-d-love-to-play-a-female-version-of-doctor-who/) [Billie Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-piper/) > [“Regalia Mason frightened her because she was very clever and almost kind sometimes, the way people who didn't care about you at all could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/regalia-mason-frightened-her-because-she-was-very-clever-and-almost/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“He made a point of complimenting Lysistrara's brilliant handling of the rabies situation and thanking her for her generosity in the last minutes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/he-made-a-point-of-complimenting-lysistrara-s-brilliant-handling-of/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [There are men and women who make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They have the gift of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/there-are-men-and-women-who-make-the-world-better-just-by-being-the/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [(I)f we are going to be kind, let it be out of simple generosity, not because we fear guilt or retribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-f-we-are-going-to-be-kind-let-it-be-out-of-simple-generosity-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids, in fact it's cold as hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/mars-ain-t-the-kind-of-place-to-raise-your-kids-in-fact-it-s-cold-as/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [Since I was a kid, I've had an absolute obsession with particular kinds of American music. Mississippi Delta blues of the Thirties, Chicago blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/since-i-was-a-kid-i-ve-had-an-absolute-obsession-with-particular/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [It's crazy for somebody who's kind of empowered and wealthy like myself to say, "Oh, I don't need to be patronized by the state,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/it-s-crazy-for-somebody-who-s-kind-of-empowered-and-wealthy-like/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [It doesn't take courage to drink too much and be wild or jump around. That doesn't take any kind of boldness, just riding a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/it-doesn-t-take-courage-to-drink-too-much-and-be-wild-or-jump-around/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [I remember being a kid and seeing the 'National Inquirer' at the grocery store checkout line. When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) ## More Clever quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“There was once an old but clever donkey, who never liked the sting of any bee, Nor for all the Slung mud, did he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyavrat-thareja/there-was-once-an-old-but-clever-donkey-who-never-liked-the-sting-of/) [Priyavrat Thareja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyavrat-thareja/) > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. 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It's not Swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-bremner/people-may-say-that-what-i-do-is-very-clever-but-it-s-not-really-at/) [Rory Bremner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-bremner/) > [I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I'd done that ... even if I didn't make it, you wouldn't've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-do-remember-what-i-said-the-promise-to-protect-her-if-i-d-done-that/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [“Regrets are like mistresses," he informed her. "I ..." Her hand dropped from the handle. "What?" "Good men don't have them." She blinked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/regrets-are-like-mistresses-he-informed-her-i-her-hand-dropped-from/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) > [I love clever lyrics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-hayes/i-love-clever-lyrics/) [Walker Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-hayes/) [Browse all 2,116 Clever quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we cannot be clever, we can always be kind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred Fripp" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-fripp/if-we-cannot-be-clever-we-can-always-be-kind/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clever" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-fripp/if-we-cannot-be-clever-we-can-always-be-kind/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/alfred-fripp-217746_kids_if-we-cannot-be-clever-we-can-always-be_2054973.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/alfred-fripp-217746_kids_if-we-cannot-be-clever-we-can-always-be_2054973.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/389/alfred-fripp-217746_kids_if-we-cannot-be-clever-we-can-always-be_2054973.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we cannot be clever, we can always be kind.” — Alfred Fripp", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alfred Fripp", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-fripp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If we cannot be clever, we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-fripp/if-we-cannot-be-clever-we-can-always-be-kind/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-fripp/if-we-cannot-be-clever-we-can-always-be-kind/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```