--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In politics, nothing is contemptible." description: "\"In politics, nothing is contemptible.\" — Benjamin Disraeli" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/benjamin-disraeli-390_contemptible_in-politics-nothing-is-contemptible-1180_1180957.png" --- # In politics, nothing is contemptible. ![“In politics, nothing is contemptible.” quote by Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/benjamin-disraeli-390_contemptible_in-politics-nothing-is-contemptible-1180_1180957.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/benjamin-disraeli-390_contemptible_in-politics-nothing-is-contemptible-1180_1180957.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/benjamin-disraeli-390_contemptible_in-politics-nothing-is-contemptible-1180_1180957.png) > “In politics, nothing is contemptible.” [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Political life is often trivialized, yet it demands respect and serious engagement. **In simple terms:** Politics is important, not contemptible. Key Takeaway Treat political discourse with seriousness and respect. Themes politics ethics civility public discourse leadership Mood critical inspirational Type ethical political When to use this quote - parliamentary sessions - public forums - civic education - policy debates Key Concepts civic responsibility respectful debate political integrity Questions to Reflect On - What makes politics valuable despite flaws? - How can citizens foster integrity in governance? A Different Perspective Some view politics as inherently corrupt, challenging idealism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [There is no being so poor and so contemptible, who does not think there is somebody still poorer, and still more contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-no-being-so-poor-and-so-contemptible-who-does-not-think/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-something-feeble-and-a-little-contemptible-about-a-man-who-2/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [An ignorant man is insignificant and contemptible; nobody cares for his company, and he can just be said to live, and that is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/an-ignorant-man-is-insignificant-and-contemptible-nobody-cares-for/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [It was better, he thought, to fail in attempting exquisite things than to succeed in the department of the utterly contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-was-better-he-thought-to-fail-in-attempting-exquisite-things-than/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [To my eye Rubens' colouring is most contemptible. His shadows are a filthy brown somewhat the colour of excrement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/to-my-eye-rubens-colouring-is-most-contemptible-his-shadows-are-a/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [As men neither fear nor respect what has been made contemptible, all honor to him who makes oppression laughable as well as detestable. Armies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/as-men-neither-fear-nor-respect-what-has-been-made-contemptible-all/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [The unanimously applauded, self-congratulatory bromides of a Soviet Party Congress seemed contemptible. The unanimity of the sanctimonious, reality-concealing rhetoric spouted by American officials and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-unanimously-applauded-self-congratulatory-bromides-of-a-soviet/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“For it was intelligence that was the thin line between endearing rapscallion and idiot bastard. - Éibhear the Contemptible”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-a-aiken/for-it-was-intelligence-that-was-the-thin-line-between-endearing/) [G.A. Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-a-aiken/) > [Nothing that is not a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as inconsistency, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nothing-that-is-not-a-real-crime-makes-a-man-appear-so-contemptible/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Contemptuous people are sure to be contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/contemptuous-people-are-sure-to-be-contemptible/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [None but the contemptible are apprehensive of contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/none-but-the-contemptible-are-apprehensive-of-contempt/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [“It is a difficult choice sometimes whether to feel revolted at the male sex or merely to dismiss them as contemptible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-a-difficult-choice-sometimes-whether-to-feel-revolted-at-the/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [We gave him a hearty welcome, for there was nearly half as much of the entertaining as of the contemptible about the man..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/we-gave-him-a-hearty-welcome-for-there-was-nearly-half-as-much-of-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“Not one word was said by Moses or Aaron as to the wickedness of depriving a human being of his liberty. Not a word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/not-one-word-was-said-by-moses-or-aaron-as-to-the-wickedness-of/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) ## More by Benjamin Disraeli > [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [We make our fortunes and we call them fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/we-make-our-fortunes-and-we-call-them-fate/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [It shows you exactly how a star is formed; nothing else can be so pretty! A cluster of vapor, the cream of the milky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/it-shows-you-exactly-how-a-star-is-formed-nothing-else-can-be-so/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Terror has its inspiration, as well as competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/terror-has-its-inspiration-as-well-as-competition/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-am-prepared-for-the-worst-but-hope-for-the-best/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Religion should be the rule of life, not a casual incident in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/religion-should-be-the-rule-of-life-not-a-casual-incident-in-it/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Frank and explicit - that is the right line to take when you wish to conceal your own mind and confuse the minds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/frank-and-explicit-that-is-the-right-line-to-take-when-you-wish-to/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [I was told that the privileged and the people formed two nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-was-told-that-the-privileged-and-the-people-formed-two-nations/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [The praise of a fool is incense to the wisest of us . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-praise-of-a-fool-is-incense-to-the-wisest-of-us/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Expediency is a law of nature. The camel is a wonderful animal, but the desert made the camel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/expediency-is-a-law-of-nature-the-camel-is-a-wonderful-animal-but-the/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [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/) > [Real politics are the possession and distribution of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/real-politics-are-the-possession-and-distribution-of-power/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Desperation is sometimes as powerful an inspirer as genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/desperation-is-sometimes-as-powerful-an-inspirer-as-genius/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Why, I say, that to tax the community for the advantage of a class is not protection; it is plunder, and I entirely disclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/why-i-say-that-to-tax-the-community-for-the-advantage-of-a-class-is/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) [Explore all 603 Benjamin Disraeli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) ## More Contemptible quotes > [A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [We gave him a hearty welcome, for there was nearly half as much of the entertaining as of the contemptible about the man..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/we-gave-him-a-hearty-welcome-for-there-was-nearly-half-as-much-of-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“It is a difficult choice sometimes whether to feel revolted at the male sex or merely to dismiss them as contemptible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-a-difficult-choice-sometimes-whether-to-feel-revolted-at-the/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [None but the contemptible are apprehensive of contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/none-but-the-contemptible-are-apprehensive-of-contempt/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Contemptuous people are sure to be contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/contemptuous-people-are-sure-to-be-contemptible/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Nothing that is not a real crime makes a man appear so contemptible and little in the eyes of the world as inconsistency, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nothing-that-is-not-a-real-crime-makes-a-man-appear-so-contemptible/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“For it was intelligence that was the thin line between endearing rapscallion and idiot bastard. - Éibhear the Contemptible”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-a-aiken/for-it-was-intelligence-that-was-the-thin-line-between-endearing/) [G.A. Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-a-aiken/) > [The unanimously applauded, self-congratulatory bromides of a Soviet Party Congress seemed contemptible. The unanimity of the sanctimonious, reality-concealing rhetoric spouted by American officials and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-unanimously-applauded-self-congratulatory-bromides-of-a-soviet/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [As men neither fear nor respect what has been made contemptible, all honor to him who makes oppression laughable as well as detestable. Armies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/as-men-neither-fear-nor-respect-what-has-been-made-contemptible-all/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [To my eye Rubens' colouring is most contemptible. His shadows are a filthy brown somewhat the colour of excrement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/to-my-eye-rubens-colouring-is-most-contemptible-his-shadows-are-a/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [It was better, he thought, to fail in attempting exquisite things than to succeed in the department of the utterly contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/it-was-better-he-thought-to-fail-in-attempting-exquisite-things-than/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [An ignorant man is insignificant and contemptible; nobody cares for his company, and he can just be said to live, and that is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/an-ignorant-man-is-insignificant-and-contemptible-nobody-cares-for/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-something-feeble-and-a-little-contemptible-about-a-man-who-2/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There is no being so poor and so contemptible, who does not think there is somebody still poorer, and still more contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-is-no-being-so-poor-and-so-contemptible-who-does-not-think/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Not one word was said by Moses or Aaron as to the wickedness of depriving a human being of his liberty. Not a word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/not-one-word-was-said-by-moses-or-aaron-as-to-the-wickedness-of/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) Browse all 52 Contemptible quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In politics, nothing is contemptible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benjamin Disraeli" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/in-politics-nothing-is-contemptible/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contemptible" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/in-politics-nothing-is-contemptible/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/benjamin-disraeli-390_contemptible_in-politics-nothing-is-contemptible-1180_1180957.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/benjamin-disraeli-390_contemptible_in-politics-nothing-is-contemptible-1180_1180957.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/52a/benjamin-disraeli-390_contemptible_in-politics-nothing-is-contemptible-1180_1180957.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In politics, nothing is contemptible.” — Benjamin Disraeli", "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": "Benjamin Disraeli", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In politics, nothing is contemptible.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/in-politics-nothing-is-contemptible/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/in-politics-nothing-is-contemptible/#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 } } ] } ```