--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greater the man the greater the…" description: "\"The greater the man the greater the courtesy.\" — Alfred the Great" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/alfred-the-great-24036_courtesy_the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-cour_28040.png" --- # The greater the man the greater the courtesy. ![“The greater the man the greater the courtesy.” quote by Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/alfred-the-great-24036_courtesy_the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-cour_28040.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/alfred-the-great-24036_courtesy_the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-cour_28040.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/alfred-the-great-24036_courtesy_the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-cour_28040.png) > “The greater the man the greater the courtesy.” [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True stature is measured by how respectfully one treats others, not by personal achievements. **In simple terms:** Respect reflects character. Key Takeaway Power is shown through courtesy. Themes humility leadership respect ethics social conduct Mood thoughtful inspirational Type maxim aphilosophical statement When to use this quote - leadership meetings - public speaking - conflict resolution - team management Key Concepts character interpersonal dynamics Practical Applications - leadership training - customer service guidelines Questions to Reflect On - How does courtesy influence authority? - Can power be exercised without respect? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courtesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesy/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [The greater man the greater courtesy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-greater-man-the-greater-courtesy/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [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/) > [God is greater than anything that man can do or has done. He is not undone by just a train of powder. "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/god-is-greater-than-anything-that-man-can-do-or-has-done-he-is-not/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [If God had sufficient wisdom and power to construct such a beautiful world as this, then we must admit that his wisdom and power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-pratt/if-god-had-sufficient-wisdom-and-power-to-construct-such-a-beautiful/) [Orson Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-pratt/) > [Man is greater than the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/man-is-greater-than-the-gods/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“It is a well–known fact that the greater a man is the less he has on his door–plate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karel-capek/it-is-a-well-known-fact-that-the-greater-a-man-is-the-less-he-has-on/) [Karel Čapek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karel-capek/) > [“The greater a man's talents, the greater his power to lead astray. It is better than one should suffer than that many should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-greater-a-man-s-talents-the-greater-his-power-to-lead-astray-it/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Faced with the mind-surpassing grandeur of the universe, we cannot but admit that there is meaning which is greater than man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-heschel/faced-with-the-mind-surpassing-grandeur-of-the-universe-we-cannot-but/) [Abraham Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-heschel/) > [I've always believed the mission is greater than the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/i-ve-always-believed-the-mission-is-greater-than-the-man/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [I know that in many things I am not like others, but I do not know what I really am like. Man cannot compare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/i-know-that-in-many-things-i-am-not-like-others-but-i-do-not-know/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [No man who acts from a sense of duty ever puts the lesser duty above the greater. No man has the desire and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/no-man-who-acts-from-a-sense-of-duty-ever-puts-the-lesser-duty-above/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The difference between human heroes and sacred characters lies just in this: the man is just a man, but behind the man of God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-simpson/the-difference-between-human-heroes-and-sacred-characters-lies-just/) [A. B. Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-simpson/) > [The greater a man's talents, the greater his power to lead astray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-greater-a-man-s-talents-the-greater-his-power-to-lead-astray/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [For the greater a man's works for the future, the less the present can comprehend them; the harder his fight, and the rarer success.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/for-the-greater-a-man-s-works-for-the-future-the-less-the-present-can/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [A man of inner strength is greater then a man with outer strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-botes/a-man-of-inner-strength-is-greater-then-a-man-with-outer-strength/) Chris Botes ## More by Alfred the Great > [When the Sun Clearest shineth Serenest in the heaven, Quickly are obscured All over the earth Other stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/when-the-sun-clearest-shineth-serenest-in-the-heaven-quickly-are/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/ring-out-false-pride-in-place-and-blood-the-civic-slander-and-the/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [Food over flame burns, food over heat cooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/food-over-flame-burns-food-over-heat-cooks/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [Science moves, but slowly, slowly, creeping on from point to point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/science-moves-but-slowly-slowly-creeping-on-from-point-to-point/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [All the youth now in England of free men, who are rich enough to be able to devote themselves to it, be set to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/all-the-youth-now-in-england-of-free-men-who-are-rich-enough-to-be/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [It becomes no man to nurse despair, but, in the teeth of clenched antagonisms, to follow up the worthiest till he die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/it-becomes-no-man-to-nurse-despair-but-in-the-teeth-of-clenched/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [Doom very evenly! Do not doom one doom to the rich; another to the poor! Nor doom one doom to your friend; another to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/doom-very-evenly-do-not-doom-one-doom-to-the-rich-another-to-the-poor/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see, Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/for-i-dipt-into-the-future-far-as-human-eye-could-see-saw-the-vision-2/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [A life that moves to gracious ends Thro' troops of unrecording friends, A deedful life, a silent voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/a-life-that-moves-to-gracious-ends-thro-troops-of-unrecording-friends/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [...For the unquiet heart and brain, A use in measured language lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/for-the-unquiet-heart-and-brain-a-use-in-measured-language-lies/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [ Time \[is\] flowing in the middle of the night. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/time-is-flowing-in-the-middle-of-the-night/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [Ah, what shall I be at fifty, should nature keep me alive, if I find the world so bitter when I am but twenty-five?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/ah-what-shall-i-be-at-fifty-should-nature-keep-me-alive-if-i-find-the/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [One God, one law, one element, And one far-off divine event, To which the whole creation moves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/one-god-one-law-one-element-and-one-far-off-divine-event-to-which-the/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [Ah, why should life all labor be?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/ah-why-should-life-all-labor-be/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) > [The vow that binds too quickly snaps itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/the-vow-that-binds-too-quickly-snaps-itself/) [Alfred the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) [Explore all 25 Alfred the Great quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/) ## 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 > [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 > [“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/) > [“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 > [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/) > [A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/a-tree-is-known-by-its-fruit-a-man-by-his-deeds-a-good-deed-is-never/) [Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/) [Browse all 527 Courtesy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The greater the man the greater the courtesy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred the Great" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-courtesy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Courtesy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-courtesy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/alfred-the-great-24036_courtesy_the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-cour_28040.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/alfred-the-great-24036_courtesy_the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-cour_28040.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03d/alfred-the-great-24036_courtesy_the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-cour_28040.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The greater the man the greater the courtesy.” — Alfred the Great", "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 the Great", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-the-great/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The greater the man the greater...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-courtesy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-the-great/the-greater-the-man-the-greater-the-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 } } ] } ```