--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Princes that would their people should do…" description: "\"Princes that would their people should do well Must at themselves begin, as at the head; For men, by their example, pattern out Their limitations, and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/ben-jonson-1371_character_princes-that-would-their-people-should-d_3070920.png" --- # Princes that would their people should do well Must at… ![“Princes that would their people should do well Must at themselves begin, as at the head; For men, by their example, pattern out Their limitations, and regard of laws: A virtuous court a world to virtue draws.” quote by Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/ben-jonson-1371_character_princes-that-would-their-people-should-d_3070920.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/ben-jonson-1371_character_princes-that-would-their-people-should-d_3070920.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/ben-jonson-1371_character_princes-that-would-their-people-should-d_3070920.png) > “Princes that would their people should do well Must at themselves begin, as at the head; For men, by their example, pattern out Their limitations, and regard of laws: A virtuous court a world to virtue draws.” [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaders must model virtue themselves; their behavior sets standards for others. **In simple terms:** Good leaders lead by example. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal integrity to inspire others. Themes leadership virtue example Mood inspirational serious Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - politics - corporate culture - community building Key Concepts ethical conduct social influence Questions to Reflect On - What actions best demonstrate integrity? - How can leaders maintain consistency? A Different Perspective People may resist despite exemplary conduct. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Limitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitation/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Royalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/royalty/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I'm really very sorry for you all, but it's an unjust world, and virtue is triumphant only in theatrical performances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-really-very-sorry-for-you-all-but-it-s-an-unjust-world-and-virtue/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Glory fills the world with virtue, and, like a beneficent sun, covers the whole earth with flowers and with fruits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/glory-fills-the-world-with-virtue-and-like-a-beneficent-sun-covers/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [I feel very strongly that we make decisions about what we're giving to the world, what we're withholding from the world, by virtue of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/i-feel-very-strongly-that-we-make-decisions-about-what-we-re-giving/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [A prince without letters is a Pilot without eyes. All his government is groping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/a-prince-without-letters-is-a-pilot-without-eyes-all-his-government/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Royalty is a fine burial shroud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora/royalty-is-a-fine-burial-shroud/) [Theodora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora/) > [“I once knew a man who was heir to the throne of a great kingdom, he lived as a ranger and fought his destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-once-knew-a-man-who-was-heir-to-the-throne-of-a-great-kingdom-he/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [Royalty is completely different than celebrity. Royalty has a magic all its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/royalty-is-completely-different-than-celebrity-royalty-has-a-magic/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [The ugly truth is it's the spineless parents who parade their undisciplined children around like royalty that make people dislike kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lz-granderson/the-ugly-truth-is-it-s-the-spineless-parents-who-parade-their/) [LZ Granderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lz-granderson/) > [I would always find a way to blow the deal and I'm not sure why. I think there was part of me that wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-isaac/i-would-always-find-a-way-to-blow-the-deal-and-i-m-not-sure-why-i/) [Oscar Isaac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-isaac/) > [Royalty has always been an unconscious but all-consuming goal of the European immigrant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vine-deloria-jr/royalty-has-always-been-an-unconscious-but-all-consuming-goal-of-the/) [Vine Deloria Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vine-deloria-jr/) > [Well, a lot of our concerts do okay, and I know we still get royalty checks which still isn't that important, but again, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-johnston/well-a-lot-of-our-concerts-do-okay-and-i-know-we-still-get-royalty/) [Bruce Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-johnston/) > [Many a crown Covers bald foreheads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/many-a-crown-covers-bald-foreheads/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) Roxanne Shante > [Just because you treat someone like royalty , doesn't mean they won't treat you like crap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-young/just-because-you-treat-someone-like-royalty-doesn-t-mean-they-won-t/) Tyler Young ## More by Ben Jonson > [Soul of the Age! The applause! delight! the wonder of our stage! My Shakespeare, rise; I will not lodge thee by Chaucer, or Spenser,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/soul-of-the-age-the-applause-delight-the-wonder-of-our-stage-my/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Ambition, like a torrent, never looks back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/ambition-like-a-torrent-never-looks-back/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Heaven prepares good men with crosses; but no ill can happen to a good man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/heaven-prepares-good-men-with-crosses-but-no-ill-can-happen-to-a-good/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The dignity of truth is lost with much protesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-dignity-of-truth-is-lost-with-much-protesting/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [True melancholy breeds your perfect fine wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/true-melancholy-breeds-your-perfect-fine-wit/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Leave a kiss but in the cup, and I'll not look for wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/leave-a-kiss-but-in-the-cup-and-i-ll-not-look-for-wine/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [All discourses but my own afflict me; they seem harsh, impertinent, and irksome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/all-discourses-but-my-own-afflict-me-they-seem-harsh-impertinent-and/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [“drink to the cause, and pure vapours”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/drink-to-the-cause-and-pure-vapours/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Spread yourself upon his bosom publicly, whose heart you would eat in private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/spread-yourself-upon-his-bosom-publicly-whose-heart-you-would-eat-in/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [That old bald cheater, Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/that-old-bald-cheater-time/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Rich apparel has strange virtues; it makes him that hath it without means esteemed for an excellent wit; he that enjoys it with means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/rich-apparel-has-strange-virtues-it-makes-him-that-hath-it-without/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Each petty hand Can steer a ship becalm'd; but he that will Govern and carry her to her ends, must know His tides, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/each-petty-hand-can-steer-a-ship-becalm-d-but-he-that-will-govern-and/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The way to rise is to obey and please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-way-to-rise-is-to-obey-and-please/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [The covetous man never has money. The prodigal will have none shortly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/the-covetous-man-never-has-money-the-prodigal-will-have-none-shortly/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [Fortune, that favors fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/fortune-that-favors-fools/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) [Explore all 249 Ben Jonson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Princes that would their people should do well Must at themselves begin, as at the head; For men, by their example, pattern out Their limitations, and regard of laws: A virtuous court a world to virtue draws.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Jonson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/princes-that-would-their-people-should-do-well-must-at-themselves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/princes-that-would-their-people-should-do-well-must-at-themselves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/ben-jonson-1371_character_princes-that-would-their-people-should-d_3070920.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/ben-jonson-1371_character_princes-that-would-their-people-should-d_3070920.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/ben-jonson-1371_character_princes-that-would-their-people-should-d_3070920.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Princes that would their people should do well Must at themselves begin, as at the head; For men, by their…” — Ben Jonson", "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": "Ben Jonson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Princes that would their people should...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/princes-that-would-their-people-should-do-well-must-at-themselves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/princes-that-would-their-people-should-do-well-must-at-themselves/#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 } } ] } ```