--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A flatterer is a friend who is your…" description: "\"A flatterer is a friend who is your inferior, or pretends to be so.\" — Aristotle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/aristotle-78_flatterer_a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-infe_31176.png" --- # A flatterer is a friend who is your inferior, or pretends… ![“A flatterer is a friend who is your inferior, or pretends to be so.” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/aristotle-78_flatterer_a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-infe_31176.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/aristotle-78_flatterer_a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-infe_31176.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/aristotle-78_flatterer_a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-infe_31176.png) > “A flatterer is a friend who is your inferior, or pretends to be so.” [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Flattery is a social tool used by those of lower status to gain favor, often by pretending to be a friend. **In simple terms:** Flattery as a power dynamic Key Takeaway Beware of insincere compliments Themes power social hierarchy authenticity manipulation trust Mood cautious analytical Type maxim observation When to use this quote - networking events - workplace interactions - political negotiations - personal relationships Key Concepts social dynamics status relationships Practical Applications - identifying genuine allies - building authentic connections Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish sincere praise from strategic flattery? - What impact does flattery have on trust? A Different Perspective Some argue that flattery can be a harmless social lubricant, but it often masks ulterior motives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flatterer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flatterer/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ## Related quotes > [If we from wealth to poverty descend, Want gives to know the flatterer from the friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/if-we-from-wealth-to-poverty-descend-want-gives-to-know-the-flatterer/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [All flatterers are mercenary, and all low-minded men are flatterers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-flatterers-are-mercenary-and-all-low-minded-men-are-flatterers/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Again, the male is by nature superior, and the female inferior; and the one rules, and the other is ruled; this principle, of necessity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/again-the-male-is-by-nature-superior-and-the-female-inferior-and-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [So it is naturally with the male and the female; the one is superior, the other inferior; the one governs, the other is governed;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/so-it-is-naturally-with-the-male-and-the-female-the-one-is-superior/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [So we must lay it down that the association which is a state exists not for the purpose of living together but for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/so-we-must-lay-it-down-that-the-association-which-is-a-state-exists/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The error of Socrates must be attributed to the false notion of unity from which he starts. Unity there should be, both of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-error-of-socrates-must-be-attributed-to-the-false-notion-of-unity/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [In bad or corrupted natures the body will often appear to rule over the soul, because they are in an evil and unnatural condition.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/in-bad-or-corrupted-natures-the-body-will-often-appear-to-rule-over/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Inferiors revolt in order that they may be equal, and equals that they may be superior. Such is the state of mind which creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/inferiors-revolt-in-order-that-they-may-be-equal-and-equals-that-they/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Persons who discover a flatterer, do not always disapprove him, because he imagines them considerable enough to deserve his applications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/persons-who-discover-a-flatterer-do-not-always-disapprove-him-because/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Read not books alone, but men, and amongst them chiefly thyself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/read-not-books-alone-but-men-and-amongst-them-chiefly-thyself/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [He that loves to be flattered is worthy o' the flatterer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-that-loves-to-be-flattered-is-worthy-o-the-flatterer/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Flatterers are the worst kind of traitors, for they will strengthen thy imperfections, encourage thee in all evils, correct thee in nothing, but so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/flatterers-are-the-worst-kind-of-traitors-for-they-will-strengthen/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [But it is hard to know them from friends, they are so obsequious and full of protestations; for a wolf resembles a dog, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/but-it-is-hard-to-know-them-from-friends-they-are-so-obsequious-and/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [Self-love is the greatest of all flatterers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/self-love-is-the-greatest-of-all-flatterers/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More by Aristotle > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-true-forms-of-government-therefore-are-those-in-which-the-one-or/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All men by nature desire to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-by-nature-desire-to-know/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-persons-ought-to-endeavor-to-follow-what-is-right-and-not-what-is/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Explore all 1,545 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More Flatterer quotes > [Crows pick out the eyes of the dead, when the dead have no longer need of them; but flatterers mar the soul of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/crows-pick-out-the-eyes-of-the-dead-when-the-dead-have-no-longer-need/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Self-love is the greatest of all flatterers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/self-love-is-the-greatest-of-all-flatterers/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [But it is hard to know them from friends, they are so obsequious and full of protestations; for a wolf resembles a dog, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/but-it-is-hard-to-know-them-from-friends-they-are-so-obsequious-and/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [Flatterers are the worst kind of traitors, for they will strengthen thy imperfections, encourage thee in all evils, correct thee in nothing, but so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/flatterers-are-the-worst-kind-of-traitors-for-they-will-strengthen/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [He that loves to be flattered is worthy o' the flatterer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-that-loves-to-be-flattered-is-worthy-o-the-flatterer/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Read not books alone, but men, and amongst them chiefly thyself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/read-not-books-alone-but-men-and-amongst-them-chiefly-thyself/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Persons who discover a flatterer, do not always disapprove him, because he imagines them considerable enough to deserve his applications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/persons-who-discover-a-flatterer-do-not-always-disapprove-him-because/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Every flatterer lives at the expense of him who listens to him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/every-flatterer-lives-at-the-expense-of-him-who-listens-to-him/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [The most detestable race of enemies are flatterers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/the-most-detestable-race-of-enemies-are-flatterers/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Believe flatterers and you're lost; believe your enemies and you despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/believe-flatterers-and-you-re-lost-believe-your-enemies-and-you/) [Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-von-ebner-eschenbach/) > [There is no such flatterer as is a man's self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/there-is-no-such-flatterer-as-is-a-man-s-self/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [The art of flatterers is to take advantage of the foibles of the great, to foster their errors, and never to give advice which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/the-art-of-flatterers-is-to-take-advantage-of-the-foibles-of-the/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [There is a principle of human affairs that goes back millennia, which is that you don't look in the mirror. You can trace this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-is-a-principle-of-human-affairs-that-goes-back-millennia-which/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Prophet just means intellectual. They were people giving geopolitical analysis, moral lessons, that sort of thing. We call them intellectuals today. There were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/prophet-just-means-intellectual-they-were-people-giving-geopolitical/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ Flatterers are the worst kind of enemies. \[Lat., Pessimum genus inimicorum laudantes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/flatterers-are-the-worst-kind-of-enemies-lat-pessimum-genus/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) [Browse all 98 Flatterer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flatterer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A flatterer is a friend who is your inferior, or pretends to be so.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-inferior-or-pretends-to-be-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flatterer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-inferior-or-pretends-to-be-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/aristotle-78_flatterer_a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-infe_31176.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/aristotle-78_flatterer_a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-infe_31176.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/127/aristotle-78_flatterer_a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-infe_31176.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A flatterer is a friend who is your inferior, or pretends to be so.” — Aristotle", "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": "Aristotle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A flatterer is a friend who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-inferior-or-pretends-to-be-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-flatterer-is-a-friend-who-is-your-inferior-or-pretends-to-be-so/#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 } } ] } ```