--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Complaint is. more contemptible than…" description: "\"Complaint is. more contemptible than pitiful.\" — Christian Nestell Bovee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_complaining_complaint-is-more-contemptible-than-piti_1643782.png" --- # Complaint is. more contemptible than pitiful. ![“Complaint is. more contemptible than pitiful.” quote by Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_complaining_complaint-is-more-contemptible-than-piti_1643782.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_complaining_complaint-is-more-contemptible-than-piti_1643782.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_complaining_complaint-is-more-contemptible-than-piti_1643782.png) > “Complaint is. more contemptible than pitiful.” [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expressing contempt for those who complain more than they deserve pity highlights moral superiority and disdain. **In simple terms:** Complaining is worse than being pitiful. Key Takeaway Avoid needless complaint. Themes humility empathy self‑control social etiquette Mood thoughtful concerned Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - Workplace grievances - online rants - personal setbacks - public speaking Key Concepts Moral judgment social criticism Questions to Reflect On - When is complaint justified? - How can we respond to excessive complaining? A Different Perspective May overlook genuine suffering behind complaints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complaints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complaints/) ## Related quotes > [Gratitude is the law of increase, and complaint is the law of decrease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-scovel-shinn/gratitude-is-the-law-of-increase-and-complaint-is-the-law-of-decrease/) [Florence Scovel Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-scovel-shinn/) > [My biggest complaint about customer service is that I am put on hold too long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-jones/my-biggest-complaint-about-customer-service-is-that-i-am-put-on-hold/) [Jon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-jones/) > [I'm not into the culture of complaint. I roll up my sleeves and somehow I get it together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-m-not-into-the-culture-of-complaint-i-roll-up-my-sleeves-and/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Listen to the customer's complaint and act fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/listen-to-the-customer-s-complaint-and-act-fast/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Many people are never happier than when they get the opportunity to complain, while others are deeply unhappy with how things are but just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/many-people-are-never-happier-than-when-they-get-the-opportunity-to/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [“Empty complaints are the sources of everyday failure, but not the problem being complained about. Problems are solvable; but not with complaints. A complainer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/empty-complaints-are-the-sources-of-everyday-failure-but-not-the/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The complaint of bad pay, and difficulty in obtaining it, is almost generally reiterated through every department of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lancaster/the-complaint-of-bad-pay-and-difficulty-in-obtaining-it-is-almost/) [Joseph Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-lancaster/) > [Constant complaint is the poorest sort of pay for all the comforts we enjoy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/constant-complaint-is-the-poorest-sort-of-pay-for-all-the-comforts-we/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Art is either a complaint or appeasement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/art-is-either-a-complaint-or-appeasement/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [To suffer without complaint is the only lesson we have to learn in this life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-suffer-without-complaint-is-the-only-lesson-we-have-to-learn-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Deal with complaints. If you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ward/deal-with-complaints-if-you-give-the-complaint-your-attention-you-may/) [Susan Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ward/) > [Always welcome your customer's scorn. This rule says read the complaint letters. Categorize them. Decide how you are going to wipe them out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-silverstein/always-welcome-your-customer-s-scorn-this-rule-says-read-the/) [Michael J. Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-silverstein/) > [You have a valid complaint, and I do recognize it ... but you are reading into things a little bit. Just the same, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kirkman/you-have-a-valid-complaint-and-i-do-recognize-it-but-you-are-reading/) [Robert Kirkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kirkman/) > [I am basically a complainer and all the grounds for complaint have been swept out from under me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/i-am-basically-a-complainer-and-all-the-grounds-for-complaint-have/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [If Christ could make a complaint, it would be, "My bride never talks to me".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/if-christ-could-make-a-complaint-it-would-be-my-bride-never-talks-to/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) ## More by Christian Nestell Bovee > [What is taken from the fortune, also, may haply be so much lifted from the soul. The greatness of a loss, as the proverb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/what-is-taken-from-the-fortune-also-may-haply-be-so-much-lifted-from/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [The next best thing to being witty one's self, is to be able to be able to quote another's wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/the-next-best-thing-to-being-witty-one-s-self-is-to-be-able-to-be/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [There are ceremonious bows that repel one like a cudgel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/there-are-ceremonious-bows-that-repel-one-like-a-cudgel/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [There are some weaknesses that are peculiar and distinctive to generous characters, as freckles are to a fair skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/there-are-some-weaknesses-that-are-peculiar-and-distinctive-to/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [A genuine passion is like a mountain stream; it admits of no impediment; it cannot go backward; it must go forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/a-genuine-passion-is-like-a-mountain-stream-it-admits-of-no/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Our courage is greater to dare a visible than an imagined danger. A visible danger rouses our energies to meet or avert it; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/our-courage-is-greater-to-dare-a-visible-than-an-imagined-danger-a/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [A good thought is indeed a great boon, for which God is to be first thanked; next he who is the first to utter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/a-good-thought-is-indeed-a-great-boon-for-which-god-is-to-be-first/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [We should not so much esteem our poverty as a misfortune, were it not that the world treats it so much as a crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/we-should-not-so-much-esteem-our-poverty-as-a-misfortune-were-it-not/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [He has but one great fear that fears to do wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/he-has-but-one-great-fear-that-fears-to-do-wrong/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Six traits of effective leaders: 1. Make others feel important 2. Promote a vision 3. Follow the golden rule 4. Admit mistakes 5. Criticize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/six-traits-of-effective-leaders-1-make-others-feel-important-2/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [In a contest with a weaker party it is more honorable to yield than to force concession. Magnanimity becomes the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/in-a-contest-with-a-weaker-party-it-is-more-honorable-to-yield-than/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [Wit is better as a seasoning than as a whole dish by itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/wit-is-better-as-a-seasoning-than-as-a-whole-dish-by-itself/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [To cultivate a garden is. . . to go hand in hand with Nature in some of her most beautiful processes, to learn something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/to-cultivate-a-garden-is-to-go-hand-in-hand-with-nature-in-some-of/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [It is with a company as it is with a punch, everything depends upon the ingredients of which it in composed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/it-is-with-a-company-as-it-is-with-a-punch-everything-depends-upon/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [It is not the number of facts he knows, but how much of a fact he is himself, that proves the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/it-is-not-the-number-of-facts-he-knows-but-how-much-of-a-fact-he-is/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) [Explore all 310 Christian Nestell Bovee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) ## More Complaining quotes > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. Isn't that what everyone in the world wants to do? I've known Emma for a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/and-you-can-t-complain-about-kissing-emma-watson-isn-t-that-what/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [People who are complaining about the Fed are people who've been predicting runaway inflation for five and six years, and it hasn't happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/people-who-are-complaining-about-the-fed-are-people-who-ve-been/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [The one thing I absolutely hate about social media are the people who abuse it. Whenever I see a person who constantly posts negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/the-one-thing-i-absolutely-hate-about-social-media-are-the-people-who/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [They have no right to complain! If women were cool with knowing their man is cheating on them then they have no right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-williams/they-have-no-right-to-complain-if-women-were-cool-with-knowing-their/) [Eric Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-williams/) > [“Don't wait, just sweat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/don-t-wait-just-sweat/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Do not complain of life's unfairness. It is never fair - at best it is impartial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/do-not-complain-of-life-s-unfairness-it-is-never-fair-at-best-it-is/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [But if people will laugh at my work and keep a sound roof over my head, who am I to complain?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-burke/but-if-people-will-laugh-at-my-work-and-keep-a-sound-roof-over-my/) [Billie Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-burke/) > [I think we need to talk about mental illness a lot more. People complain about tax dollars and say we don't have the money.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-think-we-need-to-talk-about-mental-illness-a-lot-more-people/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [Instead of complaining about your circumstances, get busy creating new ones. You either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-complaining-about-your-circumstances-get-busy-creating-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. Ivory is the soap that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/to-become-a-celebrity-is-to-become-a-brand-name-there-is-ivory-soap/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [You shouldn't get to live in society and give nothing back. People complain about their taxes, yet they do nothing for the community. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-turner/you-shouldn-t-get-to-live-in-society-and-give-nothing-back-people/) [Kathleen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-turner/) > [I was so drunk last night I fell down and missed the floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-martin/i-was-so-drunk-last-night-i-fell-down-and-missed-the-floor/) [Dean Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-martin/) > [Once the war began, the government could do anything 'necessary' to win it; so it was with the 'final solution of the Jewish problem,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/once-the-war-began-the-government-could-do-anything-necessary-to-win/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [I'll tell you that the dog whistle politics is badly missing the mark. Because, you know, as I've been speaking about it, sure, I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naheed-nenshi/i-ll-tell-you-that-the-dog-whistle-politics-is-badly-missing-the-mark/) [Naheed Nenshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naheed-nenshi/) Browse all 1,994 Complaining quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Complaint is. more contemptible than pitiful.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christian Nestell Bovee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/complaint-is-more-contemptible-than-pitiful/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Complaining" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/complaint-is-more-contemptible-than-pitiful/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_complaining_complaint-is-more-contemptible-than-piti_1643782.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_complaining_complaint-is-more-contemptible-than-piti_1643782.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/604/christian-nestell-bovee-1003_complaining_complaint-is-more-contemptible-than-piti_1643782.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Complaint is. more contemptible than pitiful.” — Christian Nestell Bovee", "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": "Christian Nestell Bovee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Complaint is. more contemptible than pitiful.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/complaint-is-more-contemptible-than-pitiful/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/complaint-is-more-contemptible-than-pitiful/#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 } } ] } ```