--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What? A great man? I only ever see the…" description: "\"What? A great man? I only ever see the ape of his own ideal.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/anonymous-1_apes_what-a-great-man-i-only-ever-see-the-ape_452930.jpg" --- # What? A great man? I only ever see the ape of his own ideal. ![“What? A great man? I only ever see the ape of his own ideal.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/anonymous-1_apes_what-a-great-man-i-only-ever-see-the-ape_452930.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/anonymous-1_apes_what-a-great-man-i-only-ever-see-the-ape_452930.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a6/anonymous-1_apes_what-a-great-man-i-only-ever-see-the-ape_452930.jpg) > “What? A great man? I only ever see the ape of his own ideal.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques the notion of greatness by comparing it to mere imitation of ideals. **In simple terms:** Greatness reduced to copying ideals. Key Takeaway Seek authentic self-expression over imitation. Themes identity greatness authenticity critique self awareness Mood critical thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical reflective literary When to use this quote - personal growth - leadership - artistic creation - education - self‑assessment Key Concepts philosophy self realism idealism Questions to Reflect On - What defines true greatness beyond imitation? - How can one avoid merely echoing others' ideals? A Different Perspective May dismiss genuine achievements that align with ideals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Ebonics - or black English, as I prefer to call it - is one of a great many dialects of English. And so English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ebonics-or-black-english-as-i-prefer-to-call-it-is-one-of-a-great/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are learning to do a great many clever things. The next great task will be to learn not to do them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-learning-to-do-a-great-many-clever-things-the-next-great-task/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A homely woman is one of the most comely of apes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-homely-woman-is-one-of-the-most-comely-of-apes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All beings so far have created something beyond themselves; and do you want to be the ebb of this great flood and even go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-beings-so-far-have-created-something-beyond-themselves-and-do-you-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dr. Kertesz mentioned to me a case known to him of a farmer who had developed prosopagnosia and in consequence could no longer distinguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dr-kertesz-mentioned-to-me-a-case-known-to-him-of-a-farmer-who-had/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Habit, if wisely and skillfully formed, becomes truly a second nature; but unskillfully and unmethodically depicted, it will be as it were an ape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/habit-if-wisely-and-skillfully-formed-becomes-truly-a-second-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Any ape can reach for a banana, but only humans can reach for the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-ape-can-reach-for-a-banana-but-only-humans-can-reach-for-the-stars/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's interesting to think that my ancestors used to live in the trees, like apes, until finally they got the nerve to head out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-interesting-to-think-that-my-ancestors-used-to-live-in-the-trees/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Now, as light stayed longer every day, the bears and hyaenas and bony hippos, the lonely alopex and the apes, lay still-tensely, it seemed-for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-as-light-stayed-longer-every-day-the-bears-and-hyaenas-and-bony/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human race proved to be nothing more than the story of an ape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-would-indeed-be-a-tragedy-if-the-history-of-the-human-race-proved/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a certain class of people who prefer to say that their fathers came down in the world through their own follies than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-certain-class-of-people-who-prefer-to-say-that-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Laughing at ourselves is possible when we are able to see humanity as it is - a little lower than the angels and at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/laughing-at-ourselves-is-possible-when-we-are-able-to-see-humanity-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There can be no doubt that the difference between the mind of the lowest man and that of the highest animal is immense. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-the-difference-between-the-mind-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-friends-good-books-and-a-sleepy-conscience-this-is-the-ideal-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Apes quotes > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Battle For The Planet Of The Apes', was just a film for kids and didn't have any deep meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lee-thompson/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-was-just-a-film-for-kids-and-didn-t/) J. Lee Thompson > [Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/far-out-in-the-uncharted-backwaters-of-the-unfashionable-end-of-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is man an ape or an angel? Now I am on the side of the angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/is-man-an-ape-or-an-angel-now-i-am-on-the-side-of-the-angels/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I think the problem we have as apes is we're asking far bigger questions than we could possibly process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-think-the-problem-we-have-as-apes-is-we-re-asking-far-bigger/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [We admit that we are like apes, but we seldom realise that we are apes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-admit-that-we-are-like-apes-but-we-seldom-realise-that-we-are-apes/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Lower your gaze because you become less of a human every time you stare at a woman and you stare at her like she's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/lower-your-gaze-because-you-become-less-of-a-human-every-time-you/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [It was their individuality combined with the shyness of their behavior that remained the most captivating impression of this first encounter with the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dian-fossey/it-was-their-individuality-combined-with-the-shyness-of-their/) [Dian Fossey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dian-fossey/) > [Apes had it worked out. No ape would philosophize, "The mountain is, and is not." They would think, "The banana is. I will eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/apes-had-it-worked-out-no-ape-would-philosophize-the-mountain-is-and/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Browse all 444 Apes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What? A great man? 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