---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is something greater than any…"
description: "\"There is something greater than any nation; it is the spirit which created the nation.\" — Bryant H. McGill"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/bryant-h-mcgill-2612_greater_there-is-something-greater-than-any-nati_855891.jpg"
---

#  There is something greater than any nation; it is the…

![“There is something greater than any nation; it is the spirit which created the nation.” quote by Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/bryant-h-mcgill-2612_greater_there-is-something-greater-than-any-nati_855891.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/bryant-h-mcgill-2612_greater_there-is-something-greater-than-any-nati_855891.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/bryant-h-mcgill-2612_greater_there-is-something-greater-than-any-nati_855891.jpg)

> “There is something greater than any nation; it is the spirit which created the nation.”

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The true power behind a nation is its collective spirit, not merely its political boundaries.

**In simple terms:** A nation's spirit outweighs its borders.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate shared purpose.

Themes

national identity spirit collective purpose

Mood

inspirational reflective

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- community building
- education
- public policy
- leadership

Key Concepts

social cohesion patriotism shared values

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we strengthen shared values?
- What role does civic engagement play?

A Different Perspective

A nation's spirit can be fragmented by division.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/)

## Related quotes

> [A nation, where the spirit of pride, greatness and honor is common to every soul, living or dead. A nation, that makes me proud,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-nation-where-the-spirit-of-pride-greatness-and-honor-is-common-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I judge the people and the nations by their ideals; the higher the ideals, the better the person, the greater the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/i-judge-the-people-and-the-nations-by-their-ideals-the-higher-the/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“The entitlement state of mind has created a nation that looks to the government for the answer to our problems, when the only answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/the-entitlement-state-of-mind-has-created-a-nation-that-looks-to-the/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [Justice requires us to remember that when any citizen denies his fellow, saying, 'His color is not mine,' or 'His beliefs are strange and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/justice-requires-us-to-remember-that-when-any-citizen-denies-his/)

[Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/)

> [If any spirit created the universe, it is malevolent, not benevolent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-smith/if-any-spirit-created-the-universe-it-is-malevolent-not-benevolent/)

[Quentin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-smith/)

> [“I judge the people and the nations by their ideals; the higher the ideals, the profounder the person, the greater the nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/i-judge-the-people-and-the-nations-by-their-ideals-the-higher-the-2/)

[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“An individual is never greater than a nation, Nana. But Gandhi has started considering himself greater than the nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathuram-vinayak-godse/an-individual-is-never-greater-than-a-nation-nana-but-gandhi-has/)

Nathuram Vinayak Godse

> [“A poverty-stricken nation with a great art is a greater nation than a wealthy nation with a poverty-stricken art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/a-poverty-stricken-nation-with-a-great-art-is-a-greater-nation-than-a/)

[William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/)

> [“The desire of the Holy Spirit to produce the life of love in us and our failure to allow the Spirit to do so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harper/the-desire-of-the-holy-spirit-to-produce-the-life-of-love-in-us-and/)

Steve Harper

> [Every tool carries with it the spirit by which it has been created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-heisenberg/every-tool-carries-with-it-the-spirit-by-which-it-has-been-created/)

[Werner Heisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-heisenberg/)

> [“To not be optimistic about the human race, would be a disregard of the power of the Spirit who created All”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-suarez/to-not-be-optimistic-about-the-human-race-would-be-a-disregard-of-the/)

[Martin Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-suarez/)

> [The unity of a nation's spirit and will are worth far more than the freedom of the spirit and will of an individual; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-unity-of-a-nation-s-spirit-and-will-are-worth-far-more-than-the/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [“There are moments when masses establish contact with their nation's spirit. These are the moments of providence. Masses then see their nation in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/there-are-moments-when-masses-establish-contact-with-their-nation-s/)

[Corneliu Zelea Codreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/)

> [The National Government will regard it as its first and foremost duty to revive in the nation the spirit of unity and cooperation. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-national-government-will-regard-it-as-its-first-and-foremost-duty/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [The greatest asset of any nation is the spirit of its people, and the greatest danger that can menace any nation is the breakdown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-b-cortelyou/the-greatest-asset-of-any-nation-is-the-spirit-of-its-people-and-the/)

George B. Cortelyou

## More by Bryant H. McGill

> [True education is limited to those people who would die without knowing, whereas the masses in the institutions are merely going through the motions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/true-education-is-limited-to-those-people-who-would-die-without/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [You reclaim your power by loving what you were once taught to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/you-reclaim-your-power-by-loving-what-you-were-once-taught-to-hate/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [It will feel impossible; like you are dying inside this is your soul crying out for life. It may take everything you have; every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/it-will-feel-impossible-like-you-are-dying-inside-this-is-your-soul/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [Genius is always accompanied by enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/genius-is-always-accompanied-by-enthusiasm/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [My self-esteem had been crushed through years of childhood bullying and serious abuses, which would take me decades to overcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/my-self-esteem-had-been-crushed-through-years-of-childhood-bullying/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [Good manners are appreciated as much as bad manners are abhorred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/good-manners-are-appreciated-as-much-as-bad-manners-are-abhorred/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [Become empty to become complete, for it is the void that defines the form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/become-empty-to-become-complete-for-it-is-the-void-that-defines-the/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [Dare to love every person, including yourself. Become the energy of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/dare-to-love-every-person-including-yourself-become-the-energy-of-love/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [A mistake made by many people with great convictions is that they will let nothing stand in the way of their views, not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/a-mistake-made-by-many-people-with-great-convictions-is-that-they/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [You are the artist and the art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/you-are-the-artist-and-the-art/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [In America, educators punish those who actually think for themselves. There is only acceptance for popular opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/in-america-educators-punish-those-who-actually-think-for-themselves/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [Hate controls everything it touches, but love sets everything it touches free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/hate-controls-everything-it-touches-but-love-sets-everything-it/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [Let people speak. Let people disagree. Communicate. Listen. Have high-respect, if not for your opponent, then for your own comportment and conduct as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/let-people-speak-let-people-disagree-communicate-listen-have-high/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [While it is important for people to see your promise you must also remember that hope is the keeper of both happiness and disappointment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/while-it-is-important-for-people-to-see-your-promise-you-must-also/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

> [Stop your worrying, panicking and stressing. Breathe. Remember, you made it this far through difficulties that seemed impossible. Remember how many times you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/stop-your-worrying-panicking-and-stressing-breathe-remember-you-made/)

[Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

[Explore all 158 Bryant H. McGill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/)

## More Greater quotes

> [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/)

[St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/)

> [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/)

[Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/)

> [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/)

[William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/)

> [When you stop a dictator, there are always risks. But there are greater risks in not stopping a dictator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-you-stop-a-dictator-there-are-always-risks-but-there-are-greater/)

[Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/)

> [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/)

James T. Conway

> [The unexpressed is always of greater value than the expressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/the-unexpressed-is-always-of-greater-value-than-the-expressed/)

[Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/)

> [Life takes hold of us with strong hands and makes us greater than we thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-canfield-fisher/life-takes-hold-of-us-with-strong-hands-and-makes-us-greater-than-we/)

[Dorothy Canfield Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-canfield-fisher/)

> [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/)

[Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/)

> [I think that as a writer your responsibility is to search for and stir up the things that are in this world. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/i-think-that-as-a-writer-your-responsibility-is-to-search-for-and/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [In comparative terms, there's no poverty in America by a long shot. Heritage Foundation political scientist Robert Rector has worked up figures showing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-comparative-terms-there-s-no-poverty-in-america-by-a-long-shot/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-the-end-theologians-are-jealous-of-science-for-they-are-aware-that/)

[Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/)

> [No greater victory can be won by citizens or soldiers than to transform temporary foes into permanent friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/no-greater-victory-can-be-won-by-citizens-or-soldiers-than-to/)

[William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/)

> [My identity shifted when I got into # recovery . That's who I am now, and it actually gives me greater pleasure to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/my-identity-shifted-when-i-got-into-recovery-that-s-who-i-am-now-and/)

[Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/)

> [What greater insult can you give God than to take your own life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-thibodeau/what-greater-insult-can-you-give-god-than-to-take-your-own-life/)

[David Thibodeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-thibodeau/)

Browse all 5,587 Greater quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There is something greater than any nation; it is the spirit which created the nation.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Bryant H. McGill"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/there-is-something-greater-than-any-nation-it-is-the-spirit-which/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Greater"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/there-is-something-greater-than-any-nation-it-is-the-spirit-which/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/bryant-h-mcgill-2612_greater_there-is-something-greater-than-any-nati_855891.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/bryant-h-mcgill-2612_greater_there-is-something-greater-than-any-nati_855891.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd9/bryant-h-mcgill-2612_greater_there-is-something-greater-than-any-nati_855891.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There is something greater than any nation; it is the spirit which created the nation.” — Bryant H. McGill",
                "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": "Bryant H. McGill",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There is something greater than any...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/there-is-something-greater-than-any-nation-it-is-the-spirit-which/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/there-is-something-greater-than-any-nation-it-is-the-spirit-which/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
