--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greater man the greater courtesy." description: "\"The greater man the greater courtesy.\" — Alfred Lord Tennyson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/alfred-lord-tennyson-521_courtesy_the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy-420_420366.png" --- # The greater man the greater courtesy. ![“The greater man the greater courtesy.” quote by Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/alfred-lord-tennyson-521_courtesy_the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy-420_420366.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/alfred-lord-tennyson-521_courtesy_the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy-420_420366.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/alfred-lord-tennyson-521_courtesy_the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy-420_420366.png) > “The greater man the greater courtesy.” [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True greatness is shown through respectful behavior toward others. **In simple terms:** Great people act courteously. Key Takeaway Treat everyone with respect. Themes respect humility leadership Mood thoughtful inspirational Type moral reflective When to use this quote - leadership - teamwork - public speaking - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethics social grace Questions to Reflect On - How does courtesy influence your leadership? - Can respect be genuine under pressure? A Different Perspective Courtesy may be overlooked in competitive environments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesy/) [Courtesy manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesy-manners/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Greater Courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater-courtesy-417982/) [Greater Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater-man-309174/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Man Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-greater/) [Manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manners/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [The greater the man the greater the courtesy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-courtesy/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/manners-are-a-sensitive-awareness-of-the-feelings-of-others/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) > [Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-is-not-so-short-but-that-there-is-always-time-enough-for-courtesy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I say that no man can be greater than the man who bravely and heroically sacrifices his life for the good of others. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-say-that-no-man-can-be-greater-than-the-man-who-bravely-and/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Be courteous to all, but intimate with few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/be-courteous-to-all-but-intimate-with-few/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Being nice should never be perceived as being weak. It's not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of courtesy, manners, grace, a woman's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/being-nice-should-never-be-perceived-as-being-weak-it-s-not-a-sign-of/) [Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/) > [He who sows courtesy reaps friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/he-who-sows-courtesy-reaps-friendship/) [Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/) > [Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/children-are-natural-mimics-who-act-like-their-parents-despite-every/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man's own good breeding is the best security against other people's ill manners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/a-man-s-own-good-breeding-is-the-best-security-against-other-people-s/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Life is short but there is always time for courtesy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-is-short-but-there-is-always-time-for-courtesy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He who plants kindness gathers love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/he-who-plants-kindness-gathers-love/) [Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/) > [There is nothing settled in manners, but the laws of behavior yield to the energy of the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-nothing-settled-in-manners-but-the-laws-of-behavior-yield-to/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The first point of courtesy must always be truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-first-point-of-courtesy-must-always-be-truth/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A moral, sensible, and well-bred manWill not affront me, and no other can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/a-moral-sensible-and-well-bred-manwill-not-affront-me-and-no-other-can/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [Civility means a great deal more than just being nice to one another. It is complex and encompasses learning how to connect successfully and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-m-forni/civility-means-a-great-deal-more-than-just-being-nice-to-one-another/) [P. M. Forni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-m-forni/) ## More by Alfred Lord Tennyson > [Faith and unfaith can ne'er be equal powers; Unfaith is aught is want of faith in all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/faith-and-unfaith-can-ne-er-be-equal-powers-unfaith-is-aught-is-want/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [There is sweet music here that softer falls Than petals from blown roses on the grass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/there-is-sweet-music-here-that-softer-falls-than-petals-from-blown/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I do but sing because I must; and pipe but as the linnets sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/i-do-but-sing-because-i-must-and-pipe-but-as-the-linnets-sing/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Here about the beach I wandered, nourishing a youth sublime With the fairy tales of science, and the long result of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/here-about-the-beach-i-wandered-nourishing-a-youth-sublime-with-the/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [So now I have sworn to bury All this dead body of hate I feel so free and so clear By the loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/so-now-i-have-sworn-to-bury-all-this-dead-body-of-hate-i-feel-so-free/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [The jingling of the guinea helps the hurt that Honor feels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-jingling-of-the-guinea-helps-the-hurt-that-honor-feels/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I come from haunts of coot and hern, I make a sudden sally And sparkle out among the fern, To bicker down a valley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/i-come-from-haunts-of-coot-and-hern-i-make-a-sudden-sally-and-sparkle/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Willows whiten, aspens quiver, Little breezes dusk and shiver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/willows-whiten-aspens-quiver-little-breezes-dusk-and-shiver/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Cast all your cares on God; that anchor holds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/cast-all-your-cares-on-god-that-anchor-holds/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Such a one do I remember, whom to look at was love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/such-a-one-do-i-remember-whom-to-look-at-was-love/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [If Nature put not forth her power About the opening of the flower, Who is it that could live an hour?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/if-nature-put-not-forth-her-power-about-the-opening-of-the-flower-who/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [As the husband is the wife is; thou art mated with a clown, As the grossness of his nature will have weight to drag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/as-the-husband-is-the-wife-is-thou-art-mated-with-a-clown-as-the/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Sin is too stupid to see beyond itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/sin-is-too-stupid-to-see-beyond-itself/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Thou madest man, he knows not why, he thinks he was not made to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/thou-madest-man-he-knows-not-why-he-thinks-he-was-not-made-to-die/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) [Explore all 501 Alfred Lord Tennyson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) ## More Courtesy quotes > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Less of your courtesy and more of your purse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/less-of-your-courtesy-and-more-of-your-purse/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [Dullness is a courteous fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-mustafa/dullness-is-a-courteous-fear/) [Mohammad MUSTAFA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-mustafa/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“...a great man who is vicious will only be a great doer of evil, and a rich man who is not liberal will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cervantes/a-great-man-who-is-vicious-will-only-be-a-great-doer-of-evil-and-a/) [Miguel Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cervantes/) > [“I would court you, with all the grace and courtesy that you deserve,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/i-would-court-you-with-all-the-grace-and-courtesy-that-you-deserve/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [The greater the man the greater the courtesy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-courtesy/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [“Out of all its squalor and human decay, its eruptions of butchery, India produced so many people of grace and beauty, ruled by elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-all-its-squalor-and-human-decay-its-eruptions-of-butchery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Show some mercy to this chair which has stretched out its arms to you for so long; please satisfy its desire to embrace you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/show-some-mercy-to-this-chair-which-has-stretched-out-its-arms-to-you/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/manners-are-a-sensitive-awareness-of-the-feelings-of-others/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) > [His courtesy was somewhat extravagant. He would write and thank people who wrote to thank him for wedding presents and when he encountered anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/his-courtesy-was-somewhat-extravagant-he-would-write-and-thank-people/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [They who sow courtesy reap friendship, and they who plant kindness gather love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/they-who-sow-courtesy-reap-friendship-and-they-who-plant-kindness/) [Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/) > [“If a lady offers you a kindness, you absolutely have to accept”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-wallingford/if-a-lady-offers-you-a-kindness-you-absolutely-have-to-accept/) [Maria Wallingford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-wallingford/) > [though I be but the prince of Wales, yet I am king of courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/though-i-be-but-the-prince-of-wales-yet-i-am-king-of-courtesy/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Princes of courtesy, merciful, proud and strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-newbolt/princes-of-courtesy-merciful-proud-and-strong/) [Henry Newbolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-newbolt/) [Browse all 527 Courtesy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The greater man the greater courtesy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred Lord Tennyson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courtesy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/alfred-lord-tennyson-521_courtesy_the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy-420_420366.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/alfred-lord-tennyson-521_courtesy_the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy-420_420366.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b0/alfred-lord-tennyson-521_courtesy_the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy-420_420366.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The greater man the greater courtesy.” — Alfred Lord Tennyson", "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 Lord Tennyson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The greater man the greater courtesy.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy/#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 } } ] } ```